Petersburg, circus on the Fontanka River

For many tourists who come to St. Petersburg, the circus on the Fontanka is one of those places where it's worth to visit.

Circus representations have been interesting to people for a long time. At first the performances were given by nomadic circus troupes, later (starting from the XVIII century) such entertainments, turning into real folk festivals, began to be arranged in arenas for riding, and from the XIX century began to build circus buildings. However, such buildings did not differ in conveniences.

The idea to build a circus on the Fontanka came to the head of the Italian artist, who was then a trainer, an artist, and head of a large circus family. This building was supposed to be different from those built earlier.

The Circus on the Fontanka was planned to be built on the basis of advanced engineering ideas, with a dome nearly 50 meters in the span, with no supporting inner columns, which created a special spatial effect. The new solution of the dome was like a huge overturned bowl, covering the auditorium. By the way, this decision was subsequently used in the construction of structures of this kind. The hall was decorated with luxury: velvet, gold, mirrors. The total number of seats is 5000, of them only in the stalls - 1500.

The first visitors to the circus on the Fontanka took in 1877 (December 26). The building is still considered one of the most beautiful circus buildings in the world. In 1919 it was taken over by the state, many times it was altered, having lost a number of aesthetic and architectural nuances both in the interior and external appearance. In 1959 the capital reconstruction began, which lasted until 1962. As a result, the decoration of the facades (both facial and side) was destroyed. Change and leadership. In 1919, Scipio Ciniselli (the last owner) left Russia, and the circus workers themselves took over the leadership duties. Later, the first Soviet director of the Leningrad Circus, Williams Truzzi, was appointed - an outstanding artist and director. His scenarios were used in staging a series of pantomimes.

In the Soviet pre-war period, the Leningrad Circus hosted not only domestic artists, but also European-scale stars: trainers Togaré and Carl Kossmi, illusionist Kefalo, athlete Sandvina, musical clowns Barraseta and many others.

In 1941, the circus interrupted its work, completing the 63rd season. The opening of the new season took place only in the second half of 1944. It was here that a new generation of artists appeared. Celebrities such as the illusionist Kio, Yuri Nikulin, Yuri Kuklachev, Oleg Popov were closely associated with the St. Petersburg circus.

Today's circus on Fontanka pleases its guests with bright shows with fantastic lighting. Circus performers are real professionals, tearing off a storm of enthusiastic applause.

A circus on the Fontanka, how to get there? Regardless of location, start from Nevsky Prospekt, because this landmark is the easiest. If the path starts from the east side of St. Petersburg, you need to go to Zanevsky Avenue, then - to the west (along the avenue). If you will get from the eastern side, you need to get to the intersection of the Fontanka Embankment and Nevsky Prospekt, then turn right, then - to Engineering, from where you can see the building of the circus. From the western direction, follow the same Nevsky Prospect, then through Sadovaya or Karavannaya Street to the Engineering Street, along it to the east, to the circus building.

If you plan to travel by public transport, take the metro. Your stop is the station "Gostiny Dvor". Then take bus number 212 or number 49 (you need to drive one stop towards the Engineering street), then walk to the embankment, thence to the circus very close.