The Olympic circus as a propagator of gymnastics in the Grand Duchy of Posen during the Turnsperre

Rozmiarek, Mateusz (author), Włodarczyk, Arkadiusz (author)

In the wake of socio-political upheaval and controversies surrounding the political activities of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn—regarded as the father of German gymnastics—a ban on gymnastic exercises by Turner unions, known as the Turnsperre, was enacted in the Kingdom of Prussia between 1819 and 1842. This ban was also enforced in the Grand Duchy of Posen, a political entity established at the Congress of Vienna and incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia after 1815 (the region had previously been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was partitioned by Prussia, Russia, and Austria in 1795). Existing histories of gymnastics in this area have largely overlooked the role of traveling Olympic circuses, which regularly visited the Grand Duchy of Posen during the final years of the Turnsperre. These circus companies showcased various gymnastic forms in their performances, often featuring equestrian vaulting. Their activities were both significant and arguably unique in the context of gymnastics development in Prussian-partitioned Poland. For the Polish residents of the Duchy—who lacked formal opportunities for physical exercise—these performances held particular importance.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, physical education, Olympic, circus, gymnastics, vaulting, Turnsperre, Grand Duchy of Posen, Poland
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 171-183, 343
• Numbering: Vol. 17, iss. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-183706
• UDC: 796.41
• ISSN on article: 1855-7171
• DOI: 10.52165/sgj.17.2.171-183
• COBISS.SI-ID: 260471811

Copyright

Podatek o licenci CC BY-SA 4.0 je naveden na pristajalni strani članka (glej zgoraj izvorni URL). (Datum opombe: 19. 6. 2026)

• Publication date in RUL: 19.06.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Science of gymnastics journal
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana Press, Slovenia (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
• ISSN: 1855-7171
• COBISS.SI-ID: 246418176

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Cirkus Olimpija kot širitelj telovadbe v Velikem vojvodstvu Poznanju v času »Turnsperja«

Abstract

Po družbeno-političnih pretresih in polemikah, povezanih s političnimi dejavnostmi Friedricha Ludwiga Jahna – ki velja za očeta nemške telovadbe – je bila v Kraljevini Prusiji med letoma 1819 in 1842 sprejeta prepoved telovadnih vaj s strani telovadnih združenj, znanih kot »Turnsperre«. Ta prepoved je bila uveljavljena tudi v Velikem vojvodstvu Poznanj, političnem okrožju, ustanovljenem na Dunajskem kongresu in vključenem v Kraljevino Prusijo po letu 1815 (regija je bila prej del Poljsko-Litovske skupnosti, ki so jo leta 1795 razdelile Prusija, Rusija in Avstrija). Obstoječe zgodovine telovadbe na tem območju so v veliki meri spregledale vlogo potujočega cirkusa Olimpija, ki so v zadnjih letih »Turnsperreja« redno obiskovali Veliko vojvodstvo Poznanj. Te cirkuške skupine so v svojih nastopih predstavljale različne telovadne oblike, pogosto s konjeniškim preskakovanjem ovir. Njihove dejavnosti so bile pomembne in verjetno edinstvene v okvirju razvoja telovadbe na Prusko razdeljeni Poljski. Za poljske prebivalce vojvodstva, ki niso imeli uradnih priložnosti za telesno vadbo, so bile te predstave še posebej pomembne.

• Keywords: šport, gimnastika, telovadba, telesna vzgoja, cirkus, preskakovanje, Prusija, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn