About the Museum

Circusland, also known as the International Palace of Circus Arts (in Catalan, Palau Internacional de les Arts del Circ), is a museum dedicated to the world of circus, located in Besalú, Catalonia (Spain). It was opened the 18th of December 2020. It is housed within the Cal Coro building (built in 1945), where the abbey house of Besalú's Sant Pere monastery originally was. It is Europe's only patrimonial institution dedicated to circus history and tradition. Its goal is to gather, preserve, research, showcase and promote the cultural heritage of the circus. Along with the Golden Elephant International Circus Festival, it is one of the main initiatives promoted by the Circus Art Foundation, a Spanish private cultural foundation directed by Genís Matabosch, a circus historian and producer. The foundation's goal is to promote, disseminate, protect and give prestige to the circus arts as leisure, a performing art, an integral part of culture and a paradigm of multiculturalism.