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Cirkusbygningen

Henrik Vilhelm Brinkopff

history of the theatresupplementtechnical dataHistoric equipment

Important events

(detail)1886 | opening

(detail)1914 | conflagration

(detail)1915 | reconstruction

People

Henrik Vilhelm Brinkopff |main architect

History

Built in 1885-1886 on Jernbanegade, near the Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Cirkusbygningen, (Circus building) was designed by the architect Henrik Vilhelm Brinkopff (1823-1900). It was inaugurated on May 8, 1886 by the German circus king, Ernst Jakob Renz (1814 -1892). At the time, circus tents were not so common; circus companies that traveled all around Europe played mostly in simple circus constructions made of wood—or, in major cities, in permanent circuses built in stone. Ernst Renz, a remarkable equestrian and director who had made a fortune in the circus business, had erected elegant and luxurious circus buildings of brick and stone in cities such as Berlin, Vienna, Hamburg, and Breslau.

The original plans of the Copenhagen building called for an elaborate façade, replete with statues and Greek colonnades, but on its opening in May 1886, the façade had become somewhat simpler, although still elegant and ornate. Just below the roof, on the periphery of the outer wall, was (and still is) a beautiful frieze by the sculptor Frederik Hammeleff (1847-1916), with horseracing motifs evoking ancient Rome and Greece.
 
Written by Johan Vinberg, Swedish Circus Academy

(Translated and edited by Dominique Jando)

published: http://www.circopedia.org/index.php/Cirkusbygningen_(Copenhagen)

 

 

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