Circus Renz was a German

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

company. It was established in 1842 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

by Ernst Jakob Renz (1815–1892) as ''Circus Olympic'' and existed until 1897. The company had several stationary buildings in Berlin,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Breslau and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Today several circus companies in Germany make use of the family name ''Renz''. Among them, '' Circus Universal Renz'' and '' Zirkus Renz Manege'' are the biggest. Apart from them, there are other circusses of the name ''Renz'' out of Germany, e.g. Dutch '' Circus Renz International'', '' Circus Renz Berlin'' and ''

Circus Herman Renz Circus Herman Renz is the largest circus in the Netherlands, and has been touring the Netherlands and other countries since 1911. History decided in the winter of 1911 to start his own circus. The first artist he contracted was his friend Tom ...

'', who are often falsely assumed to be linked to the famous dynasty.

The historical head office in Berlin

The circus' Berlin headquarters was established in 1842 as ''Circus Olympic''. On 25 May 1867

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

and

Benjamin Bilse Benjamin Bilse (17 August 1816 – 13 July 1902) was a German conductor, composer, and violinist. Biography Bilse was born in Liegnitz (present-day Legnica) in the Prussian Silesia Province. As a teenager, he had an apprenticeship with Scholz ...

' Band gave the Berlin premiere of ''

The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februar ...

'' in that building. Because of the construction of

Berlin Friedrichstraße station Berlin Friedrichstraße () is a railway station in the Germany, German Capital (political), capital Berlin. It is located on the Friedrichstraße, a major north-south street in the Mitte district of Berlin, adjacent to the point where the street ...

, the property had to be abandoned. On 20 April 1879 the circus moved into the former Berlin market hall (later Friedrichstadt-Palast). In 1888 the auditorium was augmented to 5.600 seats. Ernst Renz' son Franz had to close the company on 31 July 1897 due to financial difficulties. On 28 October 1899

Albert Schumann Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

(1858–1939) took over the Berlin circus building and operated his own '' Circus Schumann'' until 1918. In 1940, Ernst Renz' great-nephew, Bernhard Renz, re-established a touring circus under the family name. When he died in 2012, he was the oldest recorded circus director at the age of 91. Hi
descendants
continue to lead their own circuses, carrying the Renz name.

References in popular culture

* '' Circus Renz'' (''Zirkus Renz'') is the title of a German movie from 1943, premiered on 10 September 1943. It was directed by

Arthur Maria Rabenalt Arthur Maria Rabenalt (25 June 1905 – 26 February 1993) was an Austrian film director, writer, and author. He directed more than 90 films between 1934 and 1978. His 1958 film ''That Won't Keep a Sailor Down'' was entered into the 1st Moscow In ...

, actors included

René Deltgen Renatus Heinrich Deltgen (30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – 29 January 1979 in Cologne, West Germany) was a Luxembourgish stage and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who port ...

(''Renz''),

Paul Klinger Paul Karl Heinrich Klinksik (14 June 1907, Essen – 14 November 1971, Munich) was a German stage and film actor who also worked in radio drama and soundtrack Dubbing (filmmaking), dubbing. Family life His father, a civil engineer, was Karl Heinr ...

(''Harms''), Angelika Hauff (''Bettina''),

Gunnar Möller Gunnar Möller (1 July 1928 – 16 May 2017) was a German television actor, television and film actor. He appeared in over 160 film and television productions between 1940 and 2016. He was most successful as a leading man in German cinema of the 1 ...

, Willi Rose and

Alice Treff Alice Martha Treff (4 June 1906 – 8 February 2003) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1932 and 2001. She was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' Peter Voss, Thief of Millions'' ...

. * ''Souvenir de Cirque Renz'' (''Memory of Circus Renz'') is the title of a quick and technically demanding

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popu ...

for

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

and orchestra, written around 1894 by Hungarian composer Gustav Peter (1833–1919).'Erinnerung an den Cirkus Renz' by Gustav Peter
Nowadays it is part of the standard repertoire of ambitious xylophonists. Another musical reminiscence is the ''Gavotte Circus Renz'', written by

Hermann Fliege Hermann Fliege (9 September 1829, Stendal, Germany – 8 November 1907, St Petersburg) was a German composer and conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear ...

in 1882.

Notes

References

* Allers, Christian Wilhelm (1887). ''Hinter den Coulissen des Circus Renz''. F.A.Dahlström, Hamburg. * Eberstaller, G. (1974). ''Zirkus und Varieté in Wien''. Jugend u. Volk, Vienna/Munich, .

The historical head office in Berlin

References in popular culture

Notes

References

External links