Vienna Hofburg - Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection

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