Circus Krone

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The Kronebau in Munich

The Circus Krone is, by its own account, the biggest circus in the world. It is a family business that was founded in 1905 by Carl Krone under the name Circus Charles in the Harz as an animal show . After that the circus was run by his daughter Frieda Sembach-Krone and her husband Carl Sembach . Today the company is heavily criticized by animal welfare organizations with regard to its animal husbandry.

history

"Continental" traveling menagerie owned by Carl Krone senior, 1884
Predator training 1961

The history of Circus Krone began in 1870 when Karl Krone senior , born on September 19, 1833 in Questenberg in the Harz Mountains, founded the small menagerie Continental as a traveling menagerie . In 1870 his son and later successor Carl Krone was born. The menagerie moved through Europe and had increasing success in the following years, especially with show numbers based on the docility of the wild animals. The menagerie also presented what was then known as the “Negro troop”. Such sideshows , which showed exotic or physically disabled people, were often part of the offer in circuses.

After son Fritz, whom Krone had planned as his successor and who trained the bears, was killed in an accident with one of his animals, Carl Krone joined the father's company. Carl Krone junior placed particular emphasis on animal training, for which a separate tent extension was built attached to the animal shack of the Continental Menagerie . In 1893, as the tamer , he showed Charles the sensational ride of a lion on a horse for the first time in the history of animal training. When his father Karl Krone died in 1900 during a guest performance in Frankfurt (Oder) , Carl became head of the traveling troupe, which had meanwhile been known as the Menagerie Circus of the trainer Charles . In 1905 he founded the Circus Krone from it. Even after the official founding, “Völkerschauen” were an important part of the program. According to the historian Anne Dreesbach, Native Americans were among the exhibits.

The Kronebau in Munich at night (2015)

The circus has been based in Munich since 1919 . Since then, the circus has also had a permanent building in Munich, the Kronebau (at that time 4,000 seats) on Marsstrasse, making it the only (Western) European circus with a "permanent" headquarters. The first crown building from 1919 was made of wood and was destroyed in a bomb attack at the end of 1944. The temporary structure built shortly after the end of the Second World War was followed in 1962 by the third Kronebau, which still exists today (3,000 seats). From November to April, the Krone Circus plays at Kronebau, after which it goes on tour with the tent.

In the run-up to the Hitler putsch , Adolf Hitler called for an uprising on October 30, 1923 in the Circus Krone. In 1924 the premiere took place in the new circus tent , which was gigantic for the time. With 8,000 seats, 2 stages and 3 arenas, Krone became the largest circus in Europe. The three-ring principle, which Krone took over from the USA , could not prevail in Germany . The circus bridged the period of the Great Depression from 1929 with tours through Italy , Spain , France , Austria , Hungary and Switzerland . In 1932 Carl Krone bought the Kronepark . After Carl Krones' death in 1943 and during the Second World War , the circus was destroyed. However, many animals were housed outside of Munich during this time. The elephants had their quarters in the old salt works in Bad Reichenhall until the end of the war and survived the bomb attack there unscathed in 1945 . After the war it was rebuilt by Frieda Sembach-Krone and Carl Sembach with a permanent seat in Munich. In 1949, the circus expanded its reach by making guest appearances again in other cities.

From 1969 to 1971 the circus served as the backdrop for the shooting of the then successful ARD / SF television series Salto Mortale .

The circus today

Tent city on the Schützenplatz Hannover
Fleet and caravan on the Schützenplatz in Hanover
Krone fire engine in Düren

The founder Carl Krone was referred to as the "King of the German Circus" during his lifetime. The side street adjoining Kronebau and Marsstraße was renamed Zirkus-Krone-Straße in 1967 on the initiative of Lord Mayor Hans-Jochen Vogel . According to the mayor of Munich, Christian Ude , this renaming was intended to honor the founder of the circus, Carl Krone. Peta took this statement as an opportunity, referring to the Völkerschauen organized by Carl Krone, to demand the renaming of the street, which was rejected by the mayor.

From 1995 Christel Sembach-Krone directed the circus, which from 1956 was known for the equestrian freedom dressage . She was the daughter of Frieda and Carl Sembach and is considered to be the creator of the Krone Festival , which offers many artistic and circus attractions. Today, the Circus Krone has a circus tent with 4,500 seats, an area of ​​48 × 64 meters and a dome height of 14 meters. It spans an area of ​​around 3,000 square meters. During guest performances, almost 300 people live and work in the tent city, which consists of 330 living, packing and equipment vehicles. Other sources speak of 400 people and 200 animals. According to Krone spokeswoman Susanne Matzenau, it takes about six hours to set up the "largest traveling circus tent in the world", a custom-made product from Italy the size of a football field, to position 120 spotlights, to lay seven kilometers of cables and the sea lion pool to be filled with 100,000 liters of water.

In addition to various workshops, a staff kitchen, a saddlery and a tailor's shop, Circus Krone also has its own school for the children of circus members, as well as a company fire brigade.

A permanent institution for many years was the charity event Stars in der Manege , which ARD suspended for 2009 due to falling audience ratings and which was completely discontinued in 2010.

In 2001 the childless Christel Sembach-Krone adopted the Swiss animal trainer Jana Mandana Lacey-Krone . She took on the name Krone and is now the successor to Christel Sembach-Krone and continues to lead the circus with animal training. At Circus Krone, she is the mistress of the Marstall with 60 horses, which she presents in freedom dressage as well as under the dressage saddle. She also works with the exotic species - llamas, camels and zebras - from the Krone company and, together with Krones' elephant trainer James Puydebois, with the elephants. Jana Mandana Lacey-Krone has been working with the English lion tamer Martin Lacey jr. married and mother of Alexis Henry Lacey-Krone (* 2008 ).

Animals

  • Entrance portal, circus tent and cash trolley

  • Music band

  • Horse training

  • Elephant Colonel Joe

criticism

The circus was accused of inappropriate animal husbandry from various quarters. In detail, it was about the keeping conditions, the keeping of wild animals in general, individual show numbers and feeding. For this reason, smaller demonstrations took place in front of the circus building in the 2008/09 winter season. The reports resulted in increased controls in the state capital of Munich in the 2009/10 winter season. The Circus Krone was fined at the beginning of 2009 by the Darmstadt District Court for two administrative offenses pursuant to Section 18 TierSchG (the horses were not in the paddock at the time of the inspection at the end of 2006 and the elephants did not have enough employment opportunities).

For its part, Circus Krone feels persecuted by animal rights activists such as the organization PETA , who reject any form of animal husbandry by humans. After complaints about animal husbandry controls in the past, Circus Krone improved them. The animals are kept in open enclosures, for example, so that none of the animals remains locked in the transport vehicle overnight. There are also public rehearsals and tours of the enclosures and stables. In November 2019, the company hit the headlines across national borders. Recordings showing predator tamer Martin Lacey jr. Forcing one of his tigers to do tricks with a whip and a stick was sharply criticized. The Bavarian Animal Rights Action Group files a criminal complaint with the Munich public prosecutor. Several media reported.

Elephant husbandry

The Circus Krone repeatedly meets with strong criticism due to its elephant keeping. The animals are fixed on two legs with iron chains for up to 10 hours a day and trained with the so-called elephant hook. According to numerous studies, transport damages the animals' joints. In June 2018 one of the female elephants broke out in Neuwied and roamed the streets of the city unsupervised for several minutes. A few weeks later there was an incident in Osnabrück. During a performance there was a ranking battle between several animals in the arena. A cow elephant fell into the first row of visitors. The performance was interrupted, a man was injured. After the incident, Circus Krone gave the five elephants to a Spanish park in March 2019. Two of the animals, Bara and Burma , were brought back to Munich for the 2019 winter shows . The action sparked a wave of criticism. The snatching from the herd, the stressful transport of the old elephants from Spain to Munich and the adherence to the elephant dressage were criticized.

literature

  • Klaus-Dieter Kürschner: Circus Krone - From the menagerie to the largest circus in Europe. Edited by Circus Krone. Ullstein, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-550-06936-7 .
  • Frieda Sembach-Krone: Circus Krone. Your favor - our pursuit. An authorized recording by Hellmuth Schramek. Ehrenwirth, Munich 1969.

Web links

Commons : Circus Krone  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Home. Retrieved on August 22, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Here rests in peace : on the death of Karl Krones
  3. ↑ Google Books: Tamed Savages by Dr. Anne Dreesbach
  4. ↑ a b "Letter from Peta to the Lord Mayor Christian Ude" ( Memento from April 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Program Cirkus Krone 2014
  6. ^ A b Westfälische Nachrichten : Clear the ring for the rhino Tsavo: Circus Krone in Münster , Münster, Sandra Peter, July 1, 2014, accessed on September 7, 2017
  7. ↑ Uli Martin: End of the performance . On: focus.de on March 16, 2009, accessed on September 7, 2017
  8. ↑ "ARD finally buries stars in the ring " , DWDL.de , March 12, 2010
  9. ↑ Circus Krone - Family Krone , accessed on March 16, 2019
  10. ↑ a b Barbara Hordych: Director in the largest circus in the world . In: sueddeutsche.de . 2018, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on January 4, 2019]).
  11. ↑ Circus Krone Munich: rhinoceros bull Tsavo is dead
  12. ↑ Documentation of elephant keeping in Circus Krone ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 5.5 MB). From: european-elephant-group.com on July 27, 2008, accessed on September 7, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.european-elephant-group.com
  13. ^ B. Stuhlweissenburg, S. Rieber, C. Wörmann: Tierquälerei im Circus Krone? In: Merkur.de. December 23, 2008, accessed September 7, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Cruelty to animals at the Krone Circus. In: SWR.de (Report Mainz). December 22, 2008, accessed September 7, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Catherine Fuhrin: "Cruelty to Animals": New old allegations against Circus Krone. In: Merkur.de. September 18, 2009, accessed September 7, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Angelika Wölke: Wild animal ban in the circus required. In: DerWesten.de. July 26, 2012, accessed September 7, 2017 .
  17. ^ Judgment of the Darmstadt District Court of February 10, 2009. (PDF) In: PETA.de. Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Johannes Patzig: Circus Krone defends itself against militant animal rights activists. In: Merkur.de. July 8, 2010, accessed September 7, 2017 .
  19. ↑ District administration office Munich: minutes of the meeting of June 23, 2009 , accessed on November 2, 2018.
  20. ↑ Video allegedly shows beatings: Animal rights activists report Circus Krone - tamer speaks of defamation. November 16, 2019, accessed February 8, 2020 .
  21. ↑ TV recording ARD Brisant "Circus Krone tortures animals". Accessed February 8, 2020 (German).
  22. ↑ Deutscher Tierschutzbund eV: DTSchB opinion on the application "End wild animal husbandry in the circus now" . September 25, 2019.
  23. ↑ Circus-Krone-Elefant büxt: That's what the police say about Kenya's walk. June 8, 2018, accessed February 8, 2020 .
  24. ↑ The elephant from Circus Krone falls into the spectator area in Osnabrück. Accessed February 8, 2020 (German).
  25. ↑ Accident in Osnabrück: Elephant falls into the spectator seat and injures a man. July 5, 2018, accessed February 8, 2020 .
  26. ^ Elephants from Circus Krone are retiring in Spain. March 29, 2019, accessed on February 8, 2020 (German).
  27. ↑ Controversial transport: Elephants back in the Circus Krone. December 10, 2019, accessed February 8, 2020 .