Adolf Rautmann

Uncle Pelle with children on the beach

Memorial plaque , Müllerstrasse 147, in Berlin-Wedding

Adolf Rautmann (born February 11, 1863 in Brenkenhof ; † January 8, 1937 in Berlin ) was a circus artist, showman and a Berlin original . Popularly he was called Uncle Pelle .

Adolf Rautmann came to Berlin as a teenager, where he joined the Circus Renz and went on trips. In the Circus Krone it is for a short time as arenas clown occurred. Back in Berlin he performed with a number of well-known artists. From 1906 to 1907 he ran a fairground at Müllerstrasse 147 in Berlin-Wedding . Around this time he was also active in other large German cities as a festival organizer and leaseholder of fairgrounds. Adolf Rautmann also played the flute , violin and concertina .

As a solo entertainer , he performed as Uncle Pelle in front of children . He owed this nickname to the fact that his body seemed to consist only of skin and bones. During his demonstrations he kept the children busy with games, conjured up candies and showed tricks, funny hats and costumes. He was so successful that the name Uncle Pelle was even protected under trademark law.

Adolf Rautmann was friends with the draftsman Heinrich Zille . The house where the jester was born has been preserved and is located next to the Heimatstube in the Brenkenhof district of Großderschau .

After his death, it was copied by many imitators at city, street, backyard, school or allotment parties to entertain and keep the children busy.

Web links

Commons : Adolf Rautmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Uncle Pelle at Luise-Berlin.de
• Stories from Wedding - Berliner Nordpark ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )