Therese Swoboda

Ludwig Swoboda married Therese Karfiol (1893-1971) on January 16, 1912 in Vienna. Therese was fifth-generation of an old family of comedians and entertainers, allied to the Czech Berosini circus family; she was an equestrienne and she knew the circus business in and out. Therese would be instrumental in the management and development of her husband’s circus.

While Zirkus Lajos, and then Circus Medrano, prospered, Ludwig and Therese Swoboda produced six children, all girls. The elder, Therese, (known as Reserl) was born August 19, 1911. She married the juggler Rob Carry (Robert Hiebner) in 1938, and together they had two sons, Robert (known as Peter, born October 6, 1940) and Alfred (born July 10, 1942). Their second daughter, Wanda was born August 28, 1913; she married the Italian equestrian and clown Davide Belley, with whom she had three children, Silvia (born May 23, 1941), Renate (May 23, 1942), and Wanda (born March 6, 1946). Her sister, Stefanie, was born September 25, 1914; she married in 1938 the icarist Nicolas (Kola) Karpi. Sadly, Stefanie died in Berlin on February 20, 1941, after having given birth to twins. The fourth sister, Anita, was born September 9, 1918, and married the Italian painter Vincenze Monti. Then, Helene Swoboda, known as Hella, was born March 31, 1920. She also married an Italian, Renato Medini, a versatile circus performer and jack-of-all-trades, on September 26, 1946. Together Renato and Hella Medini had two children, Clarissa (born December 24, 1950) and Mario (born December 17, 1951). Finally, the last of the six sisters, Krimhilde (known as Tulli) was born July 17, 1935. She married an American, of whom little has been recorded.
Dominique Jando, Circus Medrano-Swoboda