Circus Roncalli is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

professional

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 ...

founded in 1976 by and

André Heller Franz André Heller (; born 22 March 1947 as Francis Charles Georges Jean André Heller-Hueart) is an Austrian artist, author, poet, singer, songwriter and actor. Biography Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufac ...

. According to Paul, the name was suggested by fellow Austrian and his film script ''Sarah Roncalli, Tochter des Mondes'' arah Roncalli, Daughter of the Moon named after

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

whose civil name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. Paul and Heller agreed because of its pleasant sound and the pope's reform agenda.

History

The first performance of the circus was on 18 May 1976 on the ''Hofgartenwiese'' in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, and the tour finished on 16 August 1976 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. After the first season, Paul and Heller disagreed about the concept and rights, so that at a future performance on 4 June 1980 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Bernhard Paul directed the circus on his own. (In September 1976 there were already performances without Heller in Vienna, but the show closed after a short run owing to a dwindling audience.) Since then, the circus has toured in Germany and abroad, including the first appearance of a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

circus in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1986. Model-turned-photographer Ellen von Unwerth worked as an assistant at Circus Roncalli in Munich for around a month when she was eighteen years old.

Winter quarters

The winter quarters of the circus have been at Neurather Weg 7 in

Mülheim, Cologne Mülheim ( ; ) is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Cologne in Germany and a formerly independent town (''Mülheim am Rhein''). Mülheim is located on the right bank of the Rhine opposite the old town of Cologne. The district borders Leverkuse ...

, since 1984. The building belonged to

Circus Williams 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 ...

previously, and was rebuilt to accommodate Circus Roncalli, and then was officially opened on 27 April 1986.

Roncalli Museum

Bernhard Paul owns one of the largest circus collections in Europe, including old costumes, circus books and posters, which he plans to display in a museum.

Projects

Circus Roncalli has taken part in a number of projects: * The "Höhner rockin Roncalli Show" – Tours with the musical group De Höhner. * "Circus meets Classic" – Performances by artists based on classical music performed by various symphony orchestras. * Performances with the musical group

the Kelly Family The Kelly Family is an Irish-American music group consisting of a multi-generational family, usually nine siblings who were joined occasionally on stage in their earlier years by their parents. They play a repertoire of rock, pop, and folk music ...

in 2003 and 2004 (''Phantasie verboten''), and in 2005 and 2006 ("Music meets Circus – Circus meets Music"). * A

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

circus (''Roncalli Weihnachtscircus''), which has been held in the

Tempodrom The Tempodrom (also referred to as Neues Tempodrom) is a multi-purpose event venue in Berlin. Founded by Irene Moessinger, it opened in 1980 next to the Berlin Wall on the west side of Potsdamer Platz, housed in a large circus tent. After severa ...

in Berlin from December to January since 2004 * The dinner show "Witzigmann & Roncalli Bajazzo", together with

Eckart Witzigmann Eckart Witzigmann is an Austrian chef. After his chef-apprenticeship in the Hotel Straubinger in Bad Gastein (1957–60), Witzigmann moved on to numerous positions in prestigious restaurants around the world, among others as a student of Paul B ...

since autumn 2006 * A historical Christmas market in front of the

Hamburg Rathaus Hamburg City Hall (german: link=no, Hamburger Rathaus, ) is the seat of local government of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is the seat of the government of Hamburg and as such, the seat of one of Germany's 16 state parliame ...

Transport

Bernhard Paul prefers railway transport, which is becoming more difficult because some of the loading facilities of the

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

are no longer in use.

References

External links

* – history and key acts * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roncalli, Circus 1976 establishments in West Germany Companies based in Cologne Circuses