Circus Sarrasani in Germany

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Circus Sarrasani

Type	circus
Founded	1902
First elephant arrived	1902
Last elephant left	1944
Closed down	1945
Place	Dresden
Country	Germany
Website	Website
Related persons
Owner	1902-1934: Hans Stosch-Sarrasani Sr. 1934-1941: Hans Stosch-Sarrasani Jr. 1941: Trude Stosch-Sarrasani 1956-1993: Fritz Mey 1980-2000: Ingrid Stosch-Sarrasani 2000-2016: André Sarrasani


Assistant Directors	: Gabor Némedy : Ingrid Wimmer

Performers & Artists
-: Ingrid Wimmer 1913-1914: Elise Kleinbarth 1923-1924: Louis Lorch 1923-1925: Julius Lorch 1923-1925: Johanna Meyer 1923-1925: Rosa Lorch 1923-1925: Jeanette Lorch 1923-1925: Arthur Lorch 1923-1925: Helene Lorch 1923-1925: Eugen Lorch 1923-1925: Adolph Lorch 1923-1925: Felix Lorch 1923-1925: Hedwig Lorch 1923-1925: Rudolf Lorch 1923-1925: Alice Lorch 1926: Cliff Aeros 1927: Käthe Althoff 1927-: Sophie Althoff


Key People	1956-1957: Hedwig Brandt (partner)
Zoological department
Animal trainers
1932-1936: Fritz Schulz 1929-1932: Fritz Schulz 1923-1925: Rosa Lorch 1913-1914: Sandor Kleinbarth -: Carl Petoletti : Otto Sailer-Jackson : Jacky Althoff

Elephant department

Elephant Trainer	1921-1921: Wilhelm Philadelphia -1944: Fritz Oehme : Rudi Belli : Franz Kraml

Record history
History of updates	2023-09-21xx

Latest document update	2023-09-21 14:24:41

Description

Circus Sarrasani, in Dresden, Germany , was founded in 1902 and the first elephant arrived in 1902. The last elephant left in 1944. Circus Sarrasani closed down in 1945.

Casualties

1 casualties

1921-04-28: elephant trainer Wilhelm Philadelphia fatal attack by Böse Rosa. crushed the trainer Wilhelm Philadelphia to death on the wall of her box † Wilhelm Philadelphia Died 1921-04-28

Comments / pictures1902: Circus was founded by Hans Stosch (artist name Giovanni Sarrasani) in Dresden.
1902: In the same year he bought his first elephant, an Asian elephant trained to ride on a bicycle, from Hagenbecks.Sarrasani later bought 7 elephants from director Pinkert at Leipzig Zoo (Source: Rudolf Kludsky).
Circus Sarrasani in Germany Germany

1910: 9 elephants swim in river Elbe at Dresden.
1914: Sarrasani bought Circus Henry
1917: An elephant was shot on the circus, and served at restaurant Bärenschenke, Webergasse 27-29 in Dresden.
1921-04-28: Rosa, the cow elephant, crushed the trainer Wilhelm Philadelphia to death on the wall of her box at the Sarrasani Circus in 1921
1926: Sarrasani had 22 elephants.

Circus Sarrasani in Germany Germany

Sarrasanis elephants in Frankfurt, 1927.
Circus Sarrasani in Germany Germany

Foot care of the Sarrasani elephants in the 30s.

1930: Fritz Oehme was a famous elephant trainer of the circus Sarrasani during the thirties.
1932-01-13: S train wagon with three elephants was set to fire, and the three elephants got lethal burn wounds and died shortly thereafter.
1934-09-21: Hans Stosch-Sarrasani died on tour in Sao Paolo.
1934-09-21: Hans Stosch-Sarrasani jun. (1897 – 1941) took over the circus.
1941: Trude Stosch-Sarrasani (1913 – 2009) took over the circus, after her husband died in Southamerica.
1942: 12 elephants, according to a poster advertisment, during tour in Berlin.
1944: 11 elephants, 1 hippo and 1 school horse went to National Circus Gebr. Knie from the Sarrasani together with Fritz Oehme trainer. Names: The 11 elephant bought by Knie from Sarrasani were: Menta, Tony, Rani, Herta, Punchy, Claudia, Maundy, Contess, Mary, Tarka and Frieda.

Sarrasani sent all of their elephants (13 or 14) to Circus Knie during the Second World War for fear of losing them to enemy bombing. They, of course, were right as their permanent building and winter quarters in Dresden was raised to the ground. Gerd Siemonite told me he saw the show in the building as a small boy and went back in the morning and the building was completely destroyed. They laid the dead human bodies out on the elephant boards because the elephants weren’t there. The only animal that survived was the hippo, which was in its tank underneath the building. Rolf Knie Snr. wrote a very good book about the Knie elephants and it talks about their origins.

Jim Clubb, UK.

1956: Fritz Mey (1904 – 1993) and Hedwig Stosch-Brandt restarted Circus Sarrasani in Mannheim.

Circus Sarrasani in Germany Germany

Circus Sarrasani in 1963.

1980 - 2000: Ingrid Stosch-Sarrasani had the leadership.
2000: André Sarrasani (*1972), son of Fritz Mey and Ingrid Wimmer, and adopted by Ingrid Stosch-Sarrasani, took over the circus.

References for records about Circus Sarrasani

Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan (2025). Circus Sarrasani, Elephant Encyclopedia. Available online at https://www.elephant.se/location2.php?location_id=68. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

Raffael de Ritis, Italy
Laszlo Szigeti, Hungary
Jim Clubb, UK.
Page 43, Könige der Manege by Rudolf Kludsky (in german)
Jumbo auf dem Drahtseil - Elefanten dressuren von gestern und heute by Gerhard Zapf
http://dresden.stadtwiki.de/wiki/Zirkus_Sarrasani
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarrasani
http://www.sarrasani.de/unternehmen/historie/

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