From "City Forest" to City Park
The swampy, sandy area of the former "City Forest" began to be landscaped and turned into a park at the end of the 18th century.The first restaurant opened in 1795, followed by several others, and soon became popular with the citizens: it was the first open park in the world, open to the public.
The beginnings
Ede Wulff brought back from the World Expo in Brussels a structure that can be dismantled and reassembled. The walls were covered with corrugated iron sheeting, the structure of the building, the pedestals of the seats and the dressing rooms underneath were all made of iron. The building included a huge stable, fifty metres long, as Wulff's show usually featured 86 horses. The building also provided space for the ballet company and the extras, who had a separate room next to the dressing rooms. There was also a fire alarm station in the entrance hall and a canteen. In addition, the building had flush toilets as early as 1892.
The Beketow circus
Wulff Ede a kezdeti sikerek ellenére pár év múlva visszaadta a cirkusz bérleti jogát, amit Beketow Mátyás vett át családjával 1904-ben.
Despite the initial success, Ede Wulff returned the lease of the circus a few years later, which was taken over by Mátyás Beketow and his family in 1904.
In 1908, Beketow had the building renovated and moved 80 metres away, so that it was removed from the zoo grounds. He ran the circus with minor interruptions until 1928, when he committed suicide after becoming financially bankrupt. He was succeeded by his son, Sándor Beketow, who ran the circus with his partner Rezső Árvai from 1929, but attendance declined and financial problems forced them to give back the circus lease.
Circus directors until nationalisation
The management of the circus was in question for a long time: in 1934, for example, the Vígszínház moved to the stage. In the production of The Star of the Circus, stars such as Marika Rökk and Pál Jávor appeared. In 1935 the Busch Circus took over the lease for one season.
In 1936, György Fényes took over as director, who was the director during the Second World War until 1944. Fényes's programme policy was more akin to that of a variety show, and he introduced the word 'variety show' into the name of the circus. Although his shows were world-class, the fact that he mostly hired foreign artists caused a lot of tension among Hungarian artists.
In 1944 the circus was closed due to bombing. The building suffered extensive damage, but on 1 May 1945, the circus was still open to the public for a festive performance. The circus was taken over by three new owners: Rezső Árvai and the Göndör brothers: Ferenc, who was the leader of a famous diving board group, and Miklós, alias Corodini, a well-known magician.
The circus was nationalised in 1949, when it was renamed the Budapest Big Circus and its director was Nándor Barton.