Circus Herman Renz is the largest circus in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and has been touring the Netherlands and other countries since 1911.

History

decided in the winter of 1911 to start his own

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 unicyclis ...

. The first artist he contracted was his friend

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

. In 1923 Arnold changed the name of the circus to "Renz". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was difficult for the circus to survive, and because of the circumstances it was forced to give shows for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. After the war, the circus returned to normal shows. Arnold van der Vegt died in 1955. (Arnold van der Vegt is not related to Ernst Jacob Renz, Berlin 1842 or Renz International). Graf Arnold van der Vecht

After the death of Arnold van der Vegt, his son Herman Sr. took over management of the circus. In 1970 he transferred the running of the circus to his sons, Paul and Arnold Jr. (also known as Nol). Paul acted as a clown in the shows and Arnold Jr. became the director. Arnold Jr. and his wife Marina made the circus successful. For many years they traveled around with success. In 1967 their son Herman Jr. was born. As a child, Herman's ambition was to continue his fathers circus business. The success of circus Renz reached its peak in 1978 when

Bassie and Adriaan Bassie & Adriaan was a television programme series focusing on the adventures and lives of a circus duo consisting of clown Bassie and acrobat Adriaan, played by real-life circus duo Bas and Aad van Toor. Written by Aad van Toor and originally ...

made several television series with Circus Renz as the backdrop. At the weekends, they appeared in the circus as clowns. During this period the shows were regularly sold out.

Bassie and Adriaan

In 1980 the Dutch TV producer

Joop van den Ende Johannes "Joop" Adrianus van den Ende (born 23 February 1942) is a Dutch theatrical producer, co-founder of international television production company Endemol and founder/owner of Stage Entertainment, Europe's largest live entertainment compan ...

established

Circus Bassie & Adriaan Circus Bassie & Adriaan was a large Dutch circus that had made different tours through the Netherlands and Belgium. It has been touring in the periods 1980-1982 and 1985-1989. The directors of the circus were Bassie & Adriaan ( Bas van Toor and A ...

. The staff of Circus Renz was involved with the entire transport of

. Circus Renz itself traveled throughout the country. At the end of 1983 Joop van den Ende ended his work with the circus, after he did a show with the Dutch singer

André Hazes André Gerardus Hazes (30 June 1951 - 23 September 2004) was a Dutch singer and actor. As an accomplished levenslied singer, Hazes recorded 36 studio and live albums, and 55 singles prior to his death in 2004. His music is still well-known in t ...

. At Circus Renz, the Steijvers family started a new act, followed by the new act of the Luycx Sisters in 1983. Herman Jr. fell in love with Diana Luycx and they started a relationship. Arnold Jr. again worked with

in 1985. The cooperation between them was renewed and the circus Renz grew. But, in 1988, Arnold Jr. became very ill. His last wish was to travel once more with

and a complete new circus tent. The new tent was bought, but in January 1989 Arnold van der Vegt Jr. died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Because the new tour was already planned,

finished the tour after which, in 1989, the tent was sold.

The new circus Renz

In 1990 Herman Jr., and his girlfriend Diana, performed for one season with the French circus Achille Zavatta II. Despite this, Herman wanted to continue the Circus Renz with Diana, and the families of Steijvers and Ronday. In September 1990 Diana & Herman Renz ended a contract with the Circus Achille Zavatta II. On 13 March 1991 they open with the renewed 'Dutch National Circus Herman Renz'. The first show on the tour was in

Eemnes Eemnes () is a municipality and a village in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The town of Eemnes Eemnes formerly consisted of two villages, Eemnes-Binnen ("Inner Eemnes") and Eemnes-Buiten ("Outer Eemnes"). These names referred to t ...

. For the young board of directors it was a big venture, but thanks to a contract with

Center Parcs Center Parcs may refer to: * Center Parcs UK and Ireland Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each cover ...

it turned into a large success. Over a five-year period, the now-married Diana & Herman Renz developed the circus into the largest in the Netherlands and later Benelux. The circus always wintered the show in the Dutch city of Haarlem. In December 1995 Diana & Herman Renz received the Oscar Carré Trophy. The trophy was awarded by the Swiss circus director Frédy Knie of

Circus Knie Circus Knie (german: Schweizer National-Circus Knie, french: Cirque National Suisse Knie) is the largest circus of Switzerland, based in Rapperswil. The circus was founded in 1803 by the Knie family and has existed in its present form since 19 ...

. The 1996 tour started on 22 February in the Dutch city of Hilversum. A new tent has ordered and there was a new contract with

for the show.

Show on hold

On 13 March 1996 the circus had arrived in the Dutch city of Hapert for a show at Centerparc 'Het Vennenbos'. Herman and Diana had not been seen yet that day. Worried manager Robert Ronday looked for them and found them dead, poisoned by carbon monoxide. The shows and the tour were temporarily cancelled. Some days later, the Circus moved to Haarlem, where the funeral took place. The couple were then buried at the '

Zorgvlied Zorgvlied is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld, and lies about 23 km west of Assen. The municipality received its name by the former villa "Zorgvlied". History From 1819 to 1823, t ...

' cemetery in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

New show

A week after the burial Herman's mother announced that she wanted to sell the circus for 800,000 Dutch

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...

. Many people wanted to save the circus. Nine-year-old Ronald Blom generated a lot of publicity, appearing on television shows such as the '', ' Hart van Nederland' and 'Het

Jeugdjournaal Jeugdjournaal (; "youth news programme") is a Dutch television news programme produced by the Dutch public service broadcaster NOS for children. The programme has been on air since 1981. The main evening programme airs at 7:00 pm ( CET), runnin ...

' (the news for youth). There was even a story in the local newspaper of Haarlem ('Haarlems Dagblad'). Ronald also collected money (in total 1,012 guilders). Ed Glas also organized actions to save the circus, and together with the interim executive board of the circus, Toin Routers (public relations officer of the circus in 2005) and Hans de Jager, a fan club was set up. Individuals and companies could rent a chair in the Circus as sponsors. , a company located in Breda owned by , sponsored the circus until 1998. Today the circus is owned by the families Steijvers, Ronday and Olivier. The executive board consists of five people. Circus Herman Renz went bankrupt in October 2015, after the Duursma Group took it over. The Duursma Group restarted Circus Herman Renz with a new series of performances at the Maashorst Fair in Schaijk.

Awards

On 22 December 2002 circus Herman Renz received royal recognition. Mayor Jaap Pop of Haarlem had the honour of presenting the award. Circus Herman Renz was the first Dutch circus to receive this award, which motivated the employees of Circus Herman Renz to preserve the last great Dutch circus. During December and January, Circus Herman Renz presented its famous 'Wintershow'. During this period, visitors voted for their favorite artists. The winner received the 'Haarlemse Publieksprijs' (The Harlem Audience Award).

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.renz.nl/
Facebook page
Circuses Entertainment companies established in 1911 Companies based in North Holland 1911 establishments in the Netherlands