Vienna Hofburg - Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection

On the wall is a painting by Georg Raab potraying the empress on the occasion of her silver wedding anniversary in 1879. In the portrait she is wearing the famous set of ruby jewellery, part of the Habsburg crown jewels which no longer exist today. A replica of this famous jewellery is displayed in the stele beside the painting. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The young empress begins to suffer from insomnia, a lack of appetite and a persistent cough. As a preventative measure against lung disease her doctors recommend that she is sent to Madeira. For the first time Sisi is again free of any obligations and can enjoy life far from the stifling constraints of the court. When Elisabeth returns to the Viennese court after an absence of two years, a profound transformation has taken place. The once graceful but shy and melancholic young girl has become a self-confident, proud beauty. This is the period in which the famous portraits by Franz Xaver Winterhalter were painted. The most famous of this series, painted in 1865, is without doubt the portrait displayed here which shows Elisabeth wearing a ballgown known as the “star dress” together with the famous diamond stars in her hair. Elisabeth owned a set of 27 diamond stars, some of which she later bequeathed to her granddaughter, Archduchess Elisabeth, daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf. The glass stele conta

Elisabeth increasingly makes deliberate use of the power of her beauty to achieve her own ends. She has little interest in active politics and interferes in her husband’s affairs of state only once, in aid of the Hungarian cause. Elisabeth feels a great affection for the proud and temperamental Hungarian people, who have been subject to absolutist rule since the suppression of the revolution in 1849. She becomes the fervent champion of Hungarian interests and has close contact with leading Hungarian representatives. It is without doubt due chiefly to her efforts that Franz Joseph eventually signed the Compromise of 1866 which recognised Hungary’s historical rights and established the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1867 the coronation of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth as King and Queen of Hungary takes place in the Cathedral of St Matthew in Budapest.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Displayed in front of the portrait of Elisabeth as Queen of Hungary is another dress. This is a replica of the gown she wore at the Hungarian coronation. It was made for her by Worth, the famous couturiers in Paris. When Franz Joseph and Elisabeth emerged from St Matthew’s after the coronation ceremony they were hailed by cheering crowds. Elisabeth withdrew as soon as possible to exchange her heavy gown with its train for a simple tulle dress. The stele beside the dress contains a reconstruction of the Hungarian coronation jewellery, which no longer exists today.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth fulfils her duties as empress with increasing reluctance. She dislikes pomp, finds court ceremonial tedious and despises the rigid hierarchical structures and intrigue at the Viennese court.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The empress takes refuge from the court in sporting activities, the cult of her own beauty and in travelling. One of Elisabeth’s greatest passions since childhood has been riding. Her father had taught her acrobatic riding as a child, and now the empress trains intensively, becoming one of the best and most daring horsewomen in Europe. Her exploits when out hunting to hounds go to the bounds of what is humanly possible. Here for the first time we encounter a side of Elisabeth’s personality that consciously seeks to challenge her own limits, among other things in extreme sporting achievements where she deliberately exposes herself to risk.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth was regarded as one of the most beautiful women of her time and was conscious of her reputation. The major part of her daily routine was devoted to her beauty regime. Elisabeth was particularly proud of her thick, ankle-length hair, the dressing and styling of which occupied two to three hours each day. In order to preserve her much-admired beauty Elisabeth tried out countless recipes for cosmetic preparations. Here you can see some of the original recipes. Elisabeth swore by such bizarre methods as raw veal worn overnight underneath a leather face mask. Elisabeth was especially concerned to preserve her slender figure. She was about 5 feet 8 inches or 172 centimetres tall and weighed between 99 and 103 pounds or 45 and 47 kilos, and her waist measured an incredible 20 inches or 51 centimetres. Elisabeth tried numerous different diets to maintain her weight. Her personal weighing scales played an important role in her routine: Elisabeth weighed herself daily and with advancing age tried ever more e

Though fit and aware of her health, the empress was also under constant medical supervision. She knew that dental hygiene was essential to both her health and beauty. The dental instruments belonging to her personal dentist and letters from her close friend Countess Ferenczy provide evidence of regular treatment.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After the tragic suicide of her only son, Rudolf, in 1889, Elisabeth becomes increasingly bitter, withdrawing more and more into herself, becoming reclusive and unapproachable and wearing only black. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Fans, veils and parasols become indispensable accessories for the empress from an early stage, enabling her to conceal her face from the gaze of curious strangers. Elisabeth hated being stared at. Aged fifty she wrote: “Perhaps later on I will go around in a veil all the time, and not even those closest to me shall see my face again.“ To go with her mourning dress, the empress wore jewellery made of black paste stones and jet. It was customary to avoid using precious gems for mourning jewellery, the plainness of the material serving to emphasise retreat from the world during the mourning period.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

With time, Elisabeth learns to defend her interests at court and begins to lead a life in line with her own ideas. She now does exactly what she wants and increasingly refuses to fulfil her offical obligations as empress. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth have become estranged. Elisabeth finds the lure of the infinite ocean irresistible and dreams of soaring free like a seagull: I am a seagull, from no land... In order to distract herself Elisabeth goes on long journeys and seeks out refuges, places where she can live in freedom. These include the Hungarian chateau of Gödöllö near Budapest, the Hermesvilla in the Lainzer Tiergarten on the outskirts of Vienna as well as the Achilleion on the Greek island of Corfu. Here she has a magnificent villa built in Pompeian style and named after her favourite figure from Greek mythology, furnishing it with valuable antiques. But only a short time afterwards the increasingly restless empress loses interest in the Achilleion too and has it put up for sale. In the

Elisabeth, who has written poetry since her youth, increasingly uses her romantic versifying as a means of escape. She worships Homer, and writes numerous poems inspired by her great idol, the German poet Heinrich Heine, which reveal not only her disappointment, melancholy and longings but also her misanthropy and increasing isolation. She begins to identify with Titania, the fairy queen from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In order to please his wife, Franz Joseph even has her bedroom at the Hermes Villa in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, which she calls “Titania’s enchanted castle”, decorated with scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

“Never stay in one spot for long“, writes Elisabeth. Elisabeth’s wanderlust becomes increasingly intense – the further away she is from Vienna the more at ease she feels. With the excuse of seeking relief for her poor health, the empress goes on long journeys, eager to encounter foreign lands and cultures. Above all she loves travelling by ship, especially when the sea is rough, so she can feel close to the elements. On the deck of her yacht is a glass pavilion from where she has an unobstructed view of the ocean. Here she has herself bound to a chair when storms rage, when the crew fear for their lives, declaring: “This I do like Odysseus, because the waves lure me”.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This 63-piece medicine chest was part of the empress’s luggage. As well as numerous mustard plasters, bandages, salves and vials it also contains a syringe filled with cocaine. At that time opiates were used differently to the way they are now in modern medicine. Cocaine was valued for its antispasmodic and antidepressant effects, and it was administered intravenously in the case of menstrual pain and during the menopause.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In contrast to the simple living conditions on board ship, the saloon car built specially for her journeys across Europe is luxuriously appointed. You can enter and explore the reconstruction of the carriage here. The original imperial saloon car can be visited at the Technisches Museum Wien, the Austrian National Museum of Science and Technology.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

“Destinations are only desirable because a journey lies in between. If I arrived somewhere and knew that I would never leave again, even a sojourn in a paradise would turn into hell for me”, wrote Elisabeth. Her restlessness increases, and family and confidantes grow ever more worried about the melancholic empress. In 1897 her daughter Marie Valerie writes in her diary: “Unfortunately Mama wants to be alone more than ever ... and only talks of sad things”. And an entry in May 1898 reads: “... the deep sadness that used to descend on Mama only for periods at a Englisch time now never leaves her. Today Mama said again that she often longs for death ...”www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In September 1898 Elisabeth is taking a four-week health cure at Territet near Montreux. On 9 September, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, the Countess Irma Sztáray, she makes an excursion to Pregny in order to visit Baroness Julie Rothschild. In the evening she travels on to Geneva, where she spends the night, intending to return to Montreux the next day. To keep her identity secret, she uses her usual incognito of the “Countess of Hohenembs” when registering at the Hotel Beau Rivage. Despite this precaution, the next morning a Geneva newspaper carries a report that the Empress of Austria is staying at the hotel. This report is also seen by Luigi Lucheni, an Italian anarchist who has come to Geneva intending to assassinate the Prince of Orléans. However, the prince has changed his itinerary at the last moment and will not be visiting Geneva. Lucheni is far from being disappointed – he now has a far more prominent victim in his sights. On the morning of 10th September Elisabeth

From here you now enter the historic residential apartments of the imperial couple. First you will see the suite occupied by Emperor Franz Joseph which then leads into the private apartments of Elisabeth.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Emperor Franz Joseph chose the Imperial Chancellery Wing for his apartments, which contained both the official state rooms and his private suite, and which he used until his death in 1916. The emperor held audiences twice a week. The times were announced in the Wiener Zeitung, and after one had received an appointment, one climbed the magnificent Emperor’s Staircase and entered this room in which one waited to gain admittance to the Audience Chamber. The special feature of these audiences with Emperor Franz Joseph was that any of his subjects, irrespective of their birth or rank, could ask to speak to their sovereign. As there were only limited rules of dress, one would have seen national costumes alongside tailcoats and military uniforms decorated with orders and medals as well as the silk dresses with trains worn by the ladies present, giving a colourful illustration of the regional and ethnic variety of the Habsburg monarchy. The walls are decorated with three monumental mural paintings by Johann Pe

Here the emperor stood to receive people who had sought an audience with him, and would initiate the conversation himself. On the standing desk lay the audience schedule which listed the people who had been given an appointment for an audience as well as the reason they had come. Here one could introduce oneself to the emperor, thank him for an honour, plead for clemency for oneself or one’s relatives, or present a private matter. Since Franz Joseph received up to a hundred persons in one morning these audiences usually lasted only a few minutes. The emperor ended the audience by inclining his head slightly.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.