Circus Knie (german: Schweizer National-Circus Knie, french: Cirque National Suisse Knie) is the largest

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 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, based in

Rapperswil Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...

. The circus was founded in 1803 by the Knie family and has existed in its present form since 1919 when it changed from an open arena to a covered tent. The circus has been long famous for its animals and now operates a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

(

Knie's Kinderzoo Knie's Kinderzoo (German: ''Knies Kinderzoo'') is a zoo aimed for children. It is located in the Swiss municipality of Rapperswil. Location Aimed for children, the zoo is located at ''Oberseestrasse'' nearby Seedamm respectively Rapperswi ...

). Its

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in Rapperswil closed in July 2017. In 1999 Franco Knie was named Best Animal Tamer at the

International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo (french: Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo) is an annual circus festival that is held in Monaco every January. The festival was created in 1974 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco to reco ...

. Today the circus is an enterprise with about 200 employees, operated by Frédy and Franco Knie in partnership with insurance company

Swiss Life The Swiss Life Group is the largest life insurance company of Switzerland and one of Europe’s leading comprehensive life and pensions and financial services providers, with approximately CHF 276.3 bn of assets under management. Founded in 18 ...

Tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

David Dimitri David Dimitri (born March 7, 1963) is an internationally acclaimed tightrope acrobat who has been praised for his unique style. Combining an education at the State Academy for Circus Arts in Budapest with intensive dance studies at New York’s re ...

has been associated with the circus. A co-production with

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

was mounted in 1992. In 1999

Karls kühne Gassenschau Karls kühne Gassenschau is in the widest sense a Swiss circus, variété or street theatre, as of April 2016 based in Winterthur. Name There's no man called ''Karl'' that initiated the cabaret. ''Karls kühne Gassenschau'', meaning ''Charles' ...

toured with the Swiss national Circus. In 2000 was the focus on ''Hanna & Knill'' including six clown cabarets with Ueli Bichsel, ''Neda und Maite'', and

Gardi Hutter Gardi Hutter (born 5 March 1953 in Altstätten) is a Swiss Clown-comedian, author, actress and Cabaret artist and a clown of the classical rule. Life and career Born on 5 March 1953 in Altstätten, Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Gardi Hut ...

Ursus & Nadeschkin Nadja Sieger (* 22. Mai 1968 in Zürich) is a Swiss comedian, singer, writer, actress and producer, better known as ''Nadeschkin'' of the comedian duo Ursus & Nadeschkin. Life and career Born 1968 in Zürich, Nadja Sieger attended a Gymnasium in ...

became in 2002 the leading act and headline of the Circus Knie, performing 257 times during the 2002 season tour and having an audience totaling one million spectators.

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth of Monaco (born 1 February 1965) is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Han ...

travelled with the circus for some months in 2001 and 2002 while in a relationship with Franco Knie.

External links

Circus Knie official website

References

{{Authority control Circuses Rapperswil-Jona Culture of the canton of St. Gallen Tourist attractions in Rapperswil-Jona