Vienna Hofburg - Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection

The first – and for many years the best – porcelain manufactory in Europe was established at Meissen in 1710. This Meissen service made around 1775 is striking for its exquisite floral painting. The shapes of the individual pieces are good examples of “Baroque Classicism”. While the bulbous tureens with finials in the shape of fruits still seem to belong to the Baroque era, the perforated fruit basket already displays elements of Classicism with its predilection for the formal repertoire of Antiquity.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Old French Centrepiece was commissioned in Paris in 1838 on the occasion of Emperor Ferdinand’s coronation as king of Lombardy-Venetia in Milan. However, it is not known who made this piece. At court it was customary to keep large foreign commissions secret or to arrange them via the offices of the Grand Comptroller in order to avoid offending Viennese craftsmen. The centrepiece is made of gilded bronze. The rectangular mirror plateaus would have reflected the candlelight from the girandoles or candelabra. The figurative decoration and the soft, curving tendrils evoke an impression of elegant grandeur.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The second-oldest porcelain manufactory after Meissen was founded in Vienna in 1718. Although at that time porcelain was a sought-after and costly collector’s object, it was not yet considered worthy of being used at the imperial table, except for the dessert course. The fact that it became acceptable at court around 1800 is also due to the court table silver having been melted down to produce coins during the wars. In 1803 Emperor Franz ordered a porcelain service comprising 120 items for the court table, including 60 pictorial plates for dessert and 24 “panorama” soup plates of exceptional quality. The choice of motifs was both patriotic and Romantic. Framed by gold rims, the scenes include erupting volcanoes, icy glacier landscapes or imposing Viennese architecture – each plate displaying three views from Austria, Switzerland and Italy, executed by the best porcelain painters after old engravings, a painstaking task that took five years.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PD

In the atrium is a display of “tambours” or bronze-gilt stands which held sweetmeats and decorated the imperial dining table. They belong to the New French Centrepiece acquired by the young Emperor Franz Joseph.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Imperial Silver Collection owes its interesting and comprehensive collection of Far Eastern porcelain dating from around 1700 to Duke Alexander of Lorraine. Karl Alexander was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Stephan, the husband of Maria Theresa. He married the latter’s only sister, Maria Anna, in 1744. After the wedding the young couple moved to Brussels, where Karl Alexander became governor of the Netherlands. He was a keen collector, a habit which led to him accumulating large debts. After his death his nephew Emperor Joseph II was appointed executor of his estate, and he had a large part of the collection auctioned off in Brussels. The valuable Imari porcelain, however, was added to the court holdings in Vienna. Some of the surviving pieces represent an interesting symbiosis between Far Eastern and European culture. These porcelain plates and vessels from Japan and China were fitted with mounts by European silversmiths to adapt them for court use. Their blue, red and gold painted decoratio

The “Mundzeug” of Empress Maria Theresa is a set of eating implements made for the monarch’s personal use which accompanied her wherever she went. It comprises a knife, fork, serving fork and a spoon, with a small matching eggcup, an egg spoon with a marrow extractor, and a salt-cellar. Of solid gold, it was made around the middle of the 18th century. It was not until approaching the end of the 18th century that matching sets of cutlery with place settings in multiples of 12 came into existence, the number being derived from the 12 apostles. Uniform sets of cutlery then replaced the personal, individually designed sets of the imperial family.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The fact that almost no court table silver has survived from earlier periods is due to two reasons: on the one hand table silver was melted down and other objects made from it as soon as it showed signs of wear or was no longer fashionable, or its owner found himself in need of money. However, the main reason for silver being melted down at the end of the 18th century was the Napoleonic Wars. Nearly every silver object in Austria was melted down to produce coins. No exception could be made for the Court Table Silver and so it was also sacrificed to this end. The silver plates and dishes were replaced by porcelain services made by the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory. It was not until 1830 to 1835 that the Court Table Silver was gradually replaced. The commission for this went to Stefan Mayerhofer. Later the firm of Mayerhofer & Klinkosch and J. C. Klinkosch completed the service, which was enlarged considerably after the marriage of Emperor Franz Joseph to Princess Elisabeth in Bavaria in 1854.www.hofburg-wi

This porcelain dessert service made by the Minton manufactory in England was one of the highlights of the Great Exhibition in London of 1851. Comprising 116 pieces, the service won the highest award for its aesthetic execution. Queen Victoria purchased the service and sent part of it as a gift of friendship to Emperor Franz Joseph. This fragile work of art with its unglazed biscuit porcelain figures and little custard cups was never used at the Austrian court, the brittleness of the material making this luxury item unusable for the purpose for which it was intended. This concludes the tour of the Imperial Silver Collection. Please proceed to the main building of the Hofburg where you can visit the Sisi Museum and the historic residential apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Emperor’s Staircase with its magnificent marble stucco decoration and bronze-gilt vases takes you up to the main floor of the palace. It was used by Emperor Franz Joseph to gain access to his apartments. The Hofburg was the residence of the Habsburgs for over six centuries and thus the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. In addition to its role as the seat of government and centre of administration, the Hofburg was also the winter residence of the imperial family. From the 18th century onwards, the court spent the summer mainly at Schönbrunn Palace. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In April 1854 the sixteen-year-old Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria travelled to Vienna to marry her cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph. After the wedding she moved into her suite of rooms in the Hofburg and entered the rarefied world of the Austrian imperial court. You are now entering the Sisi Museum. The displays in the following six rooms will allow you to explore myth and reality of the empress’s life. May we remind you that no photography is permitted from this point onwards.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

On 10 September 1898 Europe was shaken by the news that Empress Elisabeth of Austria had been assassinated. Elisabeth‘s tragic death brought the troubled and unhappy life of a highly unusual and often misunderstood personality to an end. However, it also contributed to the forming of an enduring myth that Elisabeth herself had fostered through her unconventional lifestyle. How did this myth arise? The exhibition you are about to see tries to answer these questions by exploring the personality of the empress.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The newspaper cuttings in the displays in front of and behind you give some idea of how Elisabeth was seen by contemporary journalists. It is evident that during her lifetime Elisabeth did not dominate the front pages of the press as the beautiful, popular and acclaimed empress – in fact there were very few reports about Elisabeth, as she withdrew from her public role as empress at a very early stage and during the last few years of her life was seldom in Vienna. Since the newspapers published within the empire were also subject to strict censorship, critical reports of the empress were unlikely to appear. It was Emperor Franz Joseph who assumed the far more important role here: as the “good old emperor“ he had a place in his peoples‘ hearts and was universally liked. This is borne out by newspaper reports following the death of the empress, in which sympathy was expressed for the emperor as the victim of yet another heavy blow of fate. It was not until after her tragic death that Eli

During Elisabeth’s lifetime little public interest was shown in the reclusive and rather “odd“ empress – it was not until after her death that the commercial possibilities of marketing the image of the beautiful but unhappy empress who had suffered a tragic death were recognised, exploited and thus reinforced. Soon there was a rash of memorial pictures, commemorative coins and other memorabilia of the empress in circulation.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After Elisabeth’s death numerous monuments to her were erected. Even before Vienna had initiated any memorial projects, two competitions for a commemorative monument were held in Budapest in 1901 and 1902. These activities and similar projects in Salzburg led to the forming of a memorial committee in Vienna. The search for a suitable site was marred by dissensions which ended only when the emperor decided in favour of the Volksgarten.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The simple standing figure made for the Salzburg monument inspired the Viennese sculptor Hermann Klotz, who added an element of movement to his interpretation. His majestic figure, portrayed in mid-stride, was made as a statuette and a life-size figure. His work was greeted with great acclaim, and a copy of the statuette graced the emperor’s study at Schönbrunn Palace. The life-size figure displayed here was made as a gift to the Republic of Austria by Archduke Franz Salvator, the empress’s son-in-law.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

It was the movies that made the figure of “Sissi” known and admired all over the world, in particular the trilogy of films starring the young Romy Schneider and directed by Ernst Marischka in the 1950s. They created the image – still powerful today – of the young, sweet, unaffected “Sissi“, which corresponds only partially with the empress’s actual personality. Let’s take a closer look at the historical figure of Elisabeth: www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth was born in Munich on 24th December 1837 to Duke Maximilian in Bavaria and Ludovika, the daughter of the Bavarian king. Sisi – as Elisabeth was always called in her family – took after her father in many respects: the duke had the common touch, loved the outdoor life and was a keen horseman and traveller. Together with her seven brothers and sisters, Sisi enjoyed a carefree childhood in Munich and at the family country estate of Possenhofen on Lake Starnberg, a world far removed from etiquette, ceremonial and the constraints of courtly life. All her life, Elisabeth was particularly close to her brother Karl Theodor, two years her junior, who was nicknamed “Gackel“. In the case on the left is a watercolour showing brother and sister. A replica of the dress Elisabeth is wearing in the portrait is displayed in this room.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In the summer of 1853 Sisi accompanied her mother and elder sister Helene – called Néné – to Bad Ischl in order to celebrate the 23rd birthday of her cousin, the young Emperor Franz Joseph. The real reason for this journey, however, was the marriage plans being hatched by the two mothers, who were sisters. However, it all turned out quite differently. Franz Joseph fell head over heels in love with the 15-year-old Sisi. The formal betrothal ceremony took place on 19th August. Sisi is subdued, overawed by all the attention being paid to her. Franz Joseph is overjoyed. His mother, Archduchess Sophie, takes pity on the timorous Sisi. Contrary to popular legend, she is not opposed to her son’s choice and is glad to see him so happy.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After the betrothal in Ischl, Sisi returns to Bavaria, where preparations for the wedding begin immediately. Among other things, Sisi is prepared for her future role as Empress of Austria. Her fears and apprehension of the Viennese court start to grow. She feels that with her engagement at Bad Ischl she has set foot on the stage of world history and relinquished her personal freedom. Very few of Elisabeth’s dresses have been preserved. The ballgown here is a copy of an original held in the Kunsthistorsches Museum which is now too fragile to be displayed. There is evidence to suggest that Elisabeth wore this unusual gown at the farewell ball given just before her departure for Vienna. A particularly interesting detail is the oriental ornamentation on the stole of the gown: beside a sultan’s mark is an embroidered Arabic inscription, which translates as Oh my lord, what a beauteous dream.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b

Elisabeth’s wedding on 24th April 1854 marks the beginning of a new stage in her life. She is overtaxed by the elaborate formal ceremonies in which she is the focus of attention, and by the huge burden of expectation placed on her. In the middle of her first reception as the new empress she bursts into tears of exhaustion and leaves the room. Elisabeth initially tries to fulful the expectations placed on her. The imperial couple have four children, but the eldest child, Sophie, dies at the age of two. Elisabeth is desperate but is compelled to suppress her feelings, as her official position and duties as empress have to take precendence over personal sensibilities.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.