Nikulin Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard

The Moscow Nikulin Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard (Moscow) is one of the oldest stationary circuses in Russia. The hall’s capacity is 2000 seats, the dome’s height is 25 meters, and the diameter of the arena is 13 meters.

From 1880 to 1913, this circus was named after the founder Albert Salamonsky. After the October Socialist Revolution and nationalization, the First State Circus was renamed. Since 1996, it has been named after the artist Yuri Nikulin, its leader in 1983-1997.

The founder of the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard is Albert Salamonsky, a hereditary rider and artist. From 1862 he performed independently. In 1873 he opened his first circus in Berlin and then in other cities: Riga, Odessa, and Dubulty. At the beginning of 1880, Salamonsky came to Moscow to open a new circus in the capital.

The site for the building was chosen to be the place of the former flower market. The merchant and gold miner Alexander Danilov allocated the construction funds for the construction. The architect was August Weber.

The competition was high: from 1853, the circus of Colonel Novosiltsev worked in Moscow from 1868 – a branch of the Cinizelli circus on Vozdvizhenka. In the neighboring building No. 11 (the modern concert hall “Mir”), Nikitin brothers opened their own business almost simultaneously.

The first performance in the Moscow Salamonsky Circus occurred on October 12, 1880.

In 1985, the age-old circus of Salamonsky was dismantled. The construction of the new building was constantly delayed due to bureaucratic delays and funding problems.

The new building project was prepared by the architects Vladilen Krasilnikov, Alexander Agafonov and Nikolai Kudryashov. The construction work was conducted by the Finnish company Polar. The appearance of the façade and the auditorium remained practically unchanged. At the same time, the size of the remaining rooms was increased several times, and a separate arena for rehearsals appeared.

At the personal request of Nikulin, the architects reproduced the clown dressing room in the same place. Some original pieces of furniture and interior from the Salamonsky Circus have been preserved. The work lasted two years.

The grand opening and the first performance in the new circus building on Tsvetnoy Boulevard occurred on September 29, 1989.

In 2000, a monument to Yuri Nikulin was erected at the main entrance. Two years later, on the boulevard opposite the circus, the Clowns fountain by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli was inaugurated, the composition is dedicated to Yuri Nikulin and Albert Salamonsky. The author was Alexander Rukavishnikov.

Working hours: daily, 11:00–19:00, break 15:00–16:00

Address: Tsvetnoy boulevard, 13, Moscow

Nearest metro: Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Trubnaya.

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