A trailer of the children’s circus “Vegas” caught fire in Eisenstadt last weekend. The tent was also damaged. For the seven-member Spindler circus family from Berlin, this means that they may now be without an income. A local inspection.
Catherine Spindler (17) stands shocked in Eisenstadt in front of her burned-out small caravan of 13 square meters, in which she also lives when it is freezing and snowing outside. All your belongings are charred. Her clothes and suits, her documents, her mobile phone and some money she had saved – nothing but dust and ashes.
“I can’t believe I’m homeless now. Last night I slept on the sofa in my mother’s caravan, but I couldn’t sleep,” the circus artist from Berlin sobbed as she wiped a tear from her cheek. Under the plasters stuck to her forehead, cheeks and temples, the wounds she received are healing from flying sparks.
Now there is the risk of loss of income
Catherine and her family actually wanted to offer children’s holiday camps from July 1 to July 23 and rehearse clown, tightrope and acrobatics numbers. Performances were scheduled for the weekends. But a few hours before the first performance on Saturday, according to the fire investigators, there was suddenly a “cable fire through no fault of yours” behind the formwork of Catherine’s caravan.
“We were all doing preparatory work when my son Nikolaus (27) noticed the smoke. The smoke in the car was so strong that we immediately grabbed four fire extinguishers. When the flames spread to the tent and three other cars, we made the emergency call and we ran to the pasture with our ponies, goats and dogs to get to safety’, says mother Viola (52).
Living with the essentials
Fortunately, the Eisenstadt, Kleinhöflein and St. Georgen fire brigades were quickly on the scene. Without them the damage would be even greater. Anyway, it means financial ruin: “Our private property is not fully insured. We therefore have to pay for most of the damage ourselves.”
A tough job, because mother Viola also has baby Grace (1) to take care of. Their father is currently touring Germany with another circus to earn money. The Spindlers had no income during the lockdowns, when performances were banned. They still pay back the corona support they received from the government at the time. Since the price increase, they live from hand to mouth. They have no reserves.
Continue fighting
“The fuel for the cars, the food, the feed for the animals – prices are exploding. That’s why we had to adjust our prices. But we can’t ask too much of households, who are already suffering from inflation, otherwise the mange empty!” Mother Viola sighs. A structural engineer now clarifies whether the tent is intact enough to allow holiday camps and performances to continue and that the Spindlers can earn money: “We really hope so!”
The family cannot afford to tear down their tents and give up circus life: “We have been doing circus for five generations. We don’t know anything else. We also love making people happy and seeing them smile. We all need it in these difficult times.”
If you want to support the family, please contact the circus: 0660/23 52 655, circus-vegas@gmx.at
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
