Located in the north of Chișinău the Circus has been built to host concerts and performances by international artists. It is the biggest theater in Moldova with up to 1900 seats and an arena with 13 meters in diameter. The stage is surrounded by a semicircular lobby in the front half of the building and rooms for artists and staff in the back half. The dome is supported by an concrete truss, that surrounds the entire building and Rests on pillars on the ground floor.

Special thanks to Clemens Krüskemper

For economic reasons, the circus was closed in 2004. It was partially reopened in 2014, but only with a small arena with seats for 300 people. The great circus hall remained deserted and started to fall into disrepair. For example, parts of the façade such as the natural stone cladding or metal elements are said to have been in danger of collapsing. A large glazed area of the round building was broken and provisionally clad with fiberboard or bricked up. 

In the meantime, however, the building seems to be on the road to preservation: Since May 2022, the Chișinău Circus has been included in the Register of State Protected Monuments and restoration work has begun, which is to be carried out in accordance with national and international conservation standards. With an investment of more than 2.2 million euros from the European Union as part of the “Confidence Building Measures” program implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a first phase of conservation and restoration work on the main building of the State Circus was completed in May 2024. Repair work was carried out on the dome and roof, a new rainwater drainage system was installed, the curtain walls were reinforced, the glass façade was replaced and tempered glass doors and windows with high-quality heat-resistant profiles were installed. Since this work was completed, the interior of the Chișinău Circus is once again protected from the weather influence.  Now the financing for the next renovation steps still needs to be clarified (last updated on January 8, 2025).