A tussle with the town of Amriswil Traditional circus has to vacate - and is facing the end

They have been making a living from their performances and social commitment with their animals for 32 years. Now the traditional Rodolfo circus has to vacate its premises. The city wants to take measures.

What once began as a good deed is now ending in a messy political process. The Rodolfo small circus in the town of Amriswil has to vacate its premises. After more than three decades, it is to come to an end.

Owner Rudolf Langjahr is 71 years old. He grew up in the Amriswil TG region as a child in a home and later joined the circus with his "dog act", as he told blue News. "I traveled all over Europe with the circus." Langjahr met his wife Rosmarie Langjahr over 32 years ago, had children and settled down.

He says: "Back then, I didn't want to travel all over Europe anymore because of the children and my wife." Langjahr remembers passing an old farm on his way to school as a child. It was always clear to him that this would be the perfect home for his family. Langjahr wanted to continue keeping animals.

Business was booming

"We quickly noticed that there was a great demand for petting zoos and pony rides at shopping centers and trade fairs," explains Langjahr. So the family's small circus grew. The Langjahrs were soon on the road all over Switzerland. Always with them: their animals. Theaters and cities became aware of the family and helped with social projects.

For almost 40 years, the couple also ran the Rodolfo small circus, which became famous at fairs and exhibitions with pony rides, petting zoos and pig races. They lived in a container that became a cozy home over the years.

Later, school classes came to perform circus acts and the family offered overnight stays in the straw - an outdoor class camp.

Everything ran smoothly at first. "I always tried to make sure that the animals were doing well, that they had enough space and that I always obtained all the permits," says the 71-year-old in an interview with blue News.

The family knew that their location in Amriswil was actually neither an agricultural zone nor a commercial zone. "Unfortunately, we live in a protection zone. But we always found a solution with the authorities and were tolerated. Animal welfare also regularly checked how our animals were doing - there were never any concerns."

The town and family have been in an awkward situation for two years

Until now. For two years, the town has been demanding the removal of the illegal facilities, which are located in the agricultural and landscape protection zone.

An odyssey begins. Gabriel Macedo (35), mayor of Amriswil, tells blue News that the story has been dragging on for the last 30 years: "The town has always turned a blind eye when it came to the Langjahrs farm." In the last two years, however, this has no longer been possible.

The original agreement between the Langjahrs and the city would have been that the family would retire and dissolve the farm and move away. "Unfortunately, that didn't happen," says Macedo.

It's time for the formal path

Macedo continues: "Now it's time to settle the whole thing through official channels. Basically, all the deadlines were pure goodwill on our part. Animal welfare is important to us, as is the family itself. But at some point we have to take the formal route."

The city had also imagined it would be easier. It is important that neither the animals nor the family are put in an emergency situation. However, the city had asked the family to submit a planning application, for example. That did not happen. Langjahr says the request seemed cynical and was also too expensive.

The town of Amriswil then initiated the planning permission procedure ex officio. This is now being examined by the canton. Both parties are currently waiting for the canton's statement. "The town council will then have to decide whether or not to accept this planning application," explains Macedo.

Canton examines and the city council decides

If the city council rejects the planning application, the facility will have to be dismantled. The Langjahr family would then have to bear the costs of dismantling. However, things are not looking good financially for the cult circus. "The fact that we have already given away some of the animals and had to massively scale back our offer means that we no longer have any income," says Langjahr. In the event that the family does not pay for the dismantling costs, the taxpayer will have to finance the dismantling.

The matter is difficult for both parties. Rudolf Langjahr is at a loss: "I don't even know what to say anymore."