The first circus of Troyes, France was a wooden circus designed by Max Berthelin. It was completely destroyed by a gigantic fire in 1892. Perhaps the gas lighting of that time had something to do with the loss of the 1000 people seating building. The current building was build in order to replace the loss of the Town Circus, but it wasn’t the first replacement.
In 1893, the Cirque Plège had a new circus built on the Mail St-Nicolas adjacent to the Beurnonville barracks. The Plège Circus accommodated two thousand people but in 1901 this building was destroyed by fire as well.
The City Council decided to have a new Town circus built in stone. The architect Henri Schmitt had the circus erected on the Mail Preize and from 1903 it could accommodate all kinds of events such as boxing matches. It was inaugurated on March 18, 1905. In September 1930 it was modified by the architect Denis Tsaropoulos.
In 1967, the city transformed the building into a convention center. The circus was listed as a historical monument in 1975 and also got the “20th Century Heritage” label to underline the historic importance of the venue. With the listing as a monument the building closed its doors for three years to be converted into a theater.
Upon the theatre opening in 1978 the building was renamed “Théâtre de Champagne” and obtained the status of municipal theater. It has a capacity of 1,080 seats.
Address
Théâtre de Champagne
Boulevard Gambetta
10000 Troyes
FRANCE
www.maisonduboulanger.com
Pictures taken on: 26 November 2021
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