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 unicyclist ...

company. It was established in 1842 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

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

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Breslau and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. 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 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

'' 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 (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

and

Benjamin Bilse Benjamin Bilse (17 August 1816 – 13 July 1902) was a German conductor and composer. Bilse was born in Liegnitz (present-day Legnica) in the Prussian Silesia Province. He obtained a rich musical education, as at the Vienna Conservatory under v ...

' 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 Februa ...

'' in that building. Because of the construction of

Berlin Friedrichstraße station Berlin Friedrichstraße () is a railway station in the German 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 crosses the river Spree. Under ...

, the property had to be abandoned. On 20 April 1879 the circus moved into the former Berlin market hall (later

Friedrichstadt-Palast The Friedrichstadt-Palast, also shortened to Palast Berlin, is a revue in the Berlin district of Mitte (district center). The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble. The p ...

). 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 (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 Circus Renz was a German circus company. It was established in 1842 in Berlin by Ernst Jakob Renz (1815–1892) as ''Circus Olympic'' and existed until 1897. The company had several stationary buildings in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Breslau and V ...

'' (''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 I ...

, actors included

René Deltgen Renatus Heinrich Deltgen born 30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; died 29 January 1979 in Cologne, West Germany) was a Luxembourgian stage and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance ...

(''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. Family life His father, a civil engineer, was Karl Heinrich Klinksik; his mot ...

(''Harms''),

Angelika Hauff Angelika Hauff (1922–1983) was an Austrian stage and film actress. She worked prolifically as a film actress in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War appearing in the lead roles in several successful films that included '' The Marria ...

(''Bettina''),

Gunnar Möller Gunnar Möller (1 July 1928 – 16 May 2017) was a German 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 1950s, especially w ...

Willi Rose Wilhelm Bernhard Max Rose (4 February 1902 – 16 June 1978) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1936 to 1978. Selected filmography References External links * 1902 births 1978 deaths German male fi ...

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 popul ...

for

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

and orchestra, written around 1894 by Hungarian composer

Gustav Peter Gustav Peter (1833 – 1919) was a composer of popular music. There is little known about the life of Gustav Peter.Ursula Hemetek, Rudolf Pietsch, ''Volksmusik, Wandel und Deutung.'' Böhlau Verlag Wien, 2000. . Seite 585Preview at Google-Books/ ...

(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 conducting, conductor. In 1882 he was appointed the first director of what would later become the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra ...

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, .