The Grikke Circus, or Old Circus, is the oldest surviving circus building in Kharkiv. It is located at National Guard Square, 17.

The old circus was built in 1905–1906 to a design by architects Vladimir Khrustalev and Mechislav Komornitsky.

The circus owner and manager was the merchant Heinrich Grikke.

Unlike the Mussuri Circus, the Grikke Circus was successful in the pre-revolutionary years.

In winter, the circus ring was transformed into a theatre stage.

In the 1930s, the circus building was renovated and its dome was enlarged.

During the renovation, the façade was rendered and took on more ‘Constructivist’ features. The inscription ‘State Circus’ appeared during those very years.

In 1943, as German troops retreated, the circus was mined, but the wife of one of the performers told Soviet sappers where the explosives had been planted.

Performing on the arena-stage of this circus were Fyodor Shalyapin, Mark Kropyvnytskyi, Mykola Sadovsky and Panas Saksagansky, members of the Durov circus dynasty, lion tamer Iryna Bugrymova, and illusionist Ihor Kio.

The circus welcomed audiences until 1977, when a new circus opened at Iryna Bugrymova Square, 1 (a typical design by Solomiya Helfer).

Today, the Old Circus building serves as a training base for circus artists and suffers from chronic underfunding.

The glazing of the Grikke Circus building was damaged during the Russian strike on 2 July 2025.