The circus was founded in 1803 by the Knie family and has existed in its present form since 1919, when it changed from an open arena to a covered tent. The circus has long been famous for its animals and now operates a
zoo (
Knie's Kinderzoo) while its
museum in Rapperswil closed in July 2017. 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.
Tightrope acrobat David Dimitri has been associated with the circus. A co-production with
Cirque du Soleil was mounted in 1992. In 1999,
Karls kühne Gassenschau toured with the Swiss National Circus. In 2000, it was the focus on
Hanna & Knill including six clown cabarets with Ueli Bichsel,
Neda und Maite, and
Gardi Hutter.
Ursus & Nadeschkin became in 2002 the leading act and headline of the Circus Knie, performing 257 times during the 2002 season tour and having an audience totaling one million spectators.
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco travelled with the circus for some months in 2001 and 2002, while in a relationship with Franco Knie. In 2020, Circus Knie celebrated its 100th anniversary. The show featured Swiss comedians
Viktor Giacobbo and Mike Müller. Circus Knie's 2021 tour was postponed due to COVID-related restrictions. The lineup included singer-songwriter
Bastian Baker and the comedy duo
Duo Full House. ==References==