Albert Salamonsky

Albert Salamonsky (June 18, 1839 – June 22, 1913) was a German equestrian performer, horse trainer, acrobat, and circus proprietor.

Early life Albert Wilhelmovich Salamonsky was born on June 18, 1839.

Albert was the son of circus rider Wilhelm Salamonsky. Albert trained under his father and gained renown as a bareback rider. An advertisement for London's Holborn Theatre on November 6, 1868, commended Salamonsky's three-horse act titled "Le Jeux Romains" .

Salamonsky married the accomplished equestrian Lina Schwartz in 1868.

He soon set up his own circus, the Circus Salamonsky, in Warsaw, Poland, at Włodzimierzowska Street (now Czackiego Street). After founding his circus in 1873, Salamonsky and Oscar Carré held two of the largest circuses in Europe and became the principal competitors to Ernst Renz. There, he established Salamonsky's Grand Circus and amphitheatre.

By 1875, his circus traveled via a special train comprising at least fifty carriages when moving between towns, with Berlin serving as his winter quarters. Salamonsky left for Saint Petersburg with his circus establishment in 1879. In Saint Petersburg, Salamonsky vied with the Italian impresario Gaetano Ciniselli for control of the circus industry.

His tour of Odesa, the Russian Empire's fourth-largest city at the time, inspired Salamonsky to settle there and build a stationary circus venue. He opened Odesa's first circus in 1879, located at 37 Koblevskaya Street.

On October 20, 1880, Salamonsky opened Moscow's first circus, the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. At the premiere performance, he himself took part as a performer.

His next venture following his establishments in Moscow and Odessa was a circus venue in Riga, Latvia. Salamonsky commissioned the circus building, which opened in 1888 in the city center adjacent to Vērmane Garden, featuring a large dome structure.

Death Albert Salamonsky died on June 22, 1913, in Moscow, Russia, at age 74. He was interred at Vvedenskoye Cemetery.