The Formation of Circus Culture in Lviv (Lemberg) (The Late 18Th-Mid-19ThCentury)

In the article, the process of the formation of Circus culture in the Western Ukrainian lands in the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, during the time that they were a part of the Habsburg Empire, is researched. Based on the materials of the periodical press of the studied period, it describes the Circus troupes, Acrobats and the Magicians, which visited Lviv, and their artistic cast and repertoire. The performances in the city from the leading European troupes, and artists have been described in chronological order. The processes of the evolution and the diversification of the circus genres and performances have been tracked, and the features of the development of Circus Art described throughout this period have been determined. An attempt was made to analyze the perception of circus performances in the society, and to determine the status and place of the Circus in the cultural space of that time.