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 Mix. In 1923 Arnold changed the name of the circus to "Renz". During World War II it was difficult for the circus to survive, and because of the circumstances it was forced to give shows for Nazi Germany. 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 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 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. 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 Bassie and Adriaan 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 Bassie and Adriaan and a complete new circus tent. The new tent was bought, but in January 1989 Arnold van der Vegt Jr. died of cancer. Because the new tour was already planned, Bassie and Adriaan 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 Achille Zavatta (6 May 1915 – 16 November 1993) was a French clown, artist and circus operator. Biography Zavatta was born in La Goulette, Tunisia, the son of Federico Zavatta, a circus owner. He started performing in his family's circus show a ...

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. 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 Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

. In December 1995 Diana & Herman Renz received the

Oscar Carré Trophy The Oscar Carré Trophy ( nl, Oscar Carré Trofee, links=no) is a circus award in Netherlands and is named after the Royal Netherland Cirque circus operator Oscar Carré.Circus Knie. The 1996 tour started on 22 February in the Dutch city of

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

. 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

, where the funeral took place. The couple were then buried at the ' Zorgvlied' cemetery in Amsterdam.

New show

A week after the burial Herman's mother announced that she wanted to sell the circus for 800,000 Dutch guilders. 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 (''Heart of the Netherlands'') is a tabloid newsmagazine programme airing on SBS6 since 1995. It is the station's longest-running programme. The show focuses on in-depth coverage of regional and local news from across the Netherlands, as well a ...

' and 'Het Jeugdjournaal' (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 Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

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 Jacobus Johannes Hermanus (Jaap) Pop (born 23 June 1941, Alphen aan den Rijn) is a former Dutch politician. Pop is a member of the Labour Party. Early life Pop was born as one of three sons in 1941 in Alphen aan den Rijn. His father is Herm ...

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/
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Circuses Entertainment companies established in 1911 Companies based in North Holland 1911 establishments in the Netherlands