Circus Park (Tonola): the Park Built on a Former Clay Pit

Circus Park (Parcul Circului), also called Tonola Park, was designed in 1960–1961 by architect Valentin Donose on the site of a brickworks’ clay pit. It has a natural lake with Egyptian lotus, and the State Circus is inside it.

From Quartier du Nord I

3.4 km · about 46 min walk
3.4 km by car

See the route in Google Maps

On the site of a brickworks

Circus Park (Parcul Circului), also known as Tonola Park or State Circus Park, is in Sector 2. The name Tonola comes from the brick factory founded in 1865 by Max Tonola. The park was laid out in the clay pit left after the extraction ended, and today’s lake sits in that depression.

Who designed it

The plans were drawn up in 1960–1961 by architect Valentin Donose, who coordinated an interdisciplinary team at the Bucharest Design Institute (Institutul de Proiectare București), according to a study published in Scientific Papers (USAMV Bucharest). Știrile ProTV gives 1961 as the year it was laid out. We do not state the area: the sources we read give different values, from 17 to 26 hectares.

What you will find in the park

The Circus Lake is fed by springs, according to Știrile ProTV, and Egyptian lotus grows on its shore, declared a natural monument. The trees include ginkgo, plane trees and bald cypresses. The State Circus is in the park, and the paths are lined with sculptures made from dead tree trunks.

Status and condition

On July 1, 2021, the Ministry of Culture, at the request of the National Heritage Institute, started the procedure to classify the park as a historic monument. In 2022, the Sector 2 Local Council asked the General Council to transfer the park from the management of ALPAB (the Bucharest Lakes, Parks and Recreation Administration) to Sector 2, for redevelopment. The draft decision described the playgrounds as degraded and the irrigation system as non-functional.