Visit to the Wintercircus in Ghent

De Cercle Equestre Gantois commissioned architect Emile De Weerdt in 1893 to build the Wintercircus on the site of the van den Kerckhove cotton factory, which burned down in 1878. On February 21, 1895, the Nouveau Cirque or den Nieuwe Cirk was inaugurated. The first activity took place on March 10, 1895, with the German circus of Ed Wulff. The first version of the building had 41 boxes and four larger VIP boxes. The wealthy bourgeoisie entered via the Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat and the common people via the Lammerstraat. In 1920, it was destroyed by a fire, only the facade was preserved. In 1923, it was rebuilt according to the design of architect Jules Pascal Ledoux and could accommodate 3,400 people. In the Wintercircus, circus performances only took place in the winter. The rest of the year it was also used for variety, revue, operetta, and cinema performances. After the last circus performance, the Wintercircus closed its doors permanently on July 4, 1944. From 1947, the space was used as a FIAT garage by the Mahy family. In 1978, that garage was closed and the family used the location for the storage of 2,000 vintage cars. From 1998, the Wintercircus stood empty. Het Gentse city council bought the building in 2005. In 2012, an international architecture competition was held for the repurposing of the Wintercircus. After the necessary renovation work, it became a new meeting place in 2022.