Circus Knie (Established 1803)
Dates
- Existence: Established 1803
Biography
Circus Knie is the largest circus in Switzerland. Knie was founded in 1803 by the Knie family and it soon became renowned for its wild animal acts. As well as the circus Knie has operated Knie’s Zoo for many years. In 1999 Franco Knie was named Best Animal Tamer at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo.
Today the circus is an enterprise with about 200 employees, operated by Frédy and Franco Knie in partnership with insurance company Swiss Life.
In 1992 Knie co-produced a show with Cirque du Soleil and in 1999 it toured with the Swiss National Circus.
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco travelled with the circus between 2001 and 2002 while in a relationship with Franco Knie.
Circus Knie continues to operate in the twenty first century.
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
Christopher Palmer Collection
Circus programmes and VHS tapes from Billy Smart’s Circus and Chipperfields’s Circus collected during the 1970s and early 1980s by the TV producer, Christopher John Palmer. There are also a number of promotional photographs of artistes and other ephemera related to the circus.
Hamilton Kaye Collection
Programmes, handbills, photographs and a digital copy of Hamilton Kaye's notebook which contained jokes and stories that he kept for using in his act.
Programmes, 1970 - 1981
Programmes for various British and international circuses including Billy Russell's, Blackpool Tower, Fossett's, Chipperfield's and the Toni Boltini's Circus.