In Vienna, Austria, the Sisi Museum is housed in the Stephan apartments, named after Archduke Stephan Viktor, in the gigantic Hofburg Palace. The museum is in honor of the longest serving Austrian Empress Elisabeth during her 44-year reign alongside Emperor Franz Joseph. The Empress was regarded as one of the most beautiful and eccentric Empresses of Austria and became an important historical figure during her reign and in the present day.
History of Empress Elisabeth
Elisabeth, nicknamed “Sisi”, was born in 1837 in Munich, Germany in the Bavarian Countryside. She married Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph when she was only 16, getting thrown into a life of Habsburg royal living. Elisabeth was not keen to the political and proper endeavors that came with royal living and was soon forbidden from participating in political decisions by Franz Joseph. As a result, Elisabeth began to lead her own life, engaging in vigorous exercise and unique dieting routines to maintain her beauty. She also began to travel the world and embrace her hermetic lifestyle.
In 1889, Elisabeth’s life was turned upside down by the murder-suicide of her son and heir to the throne Rudolf and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera. This was a blow from which the Empress never fully recovered. She refrained from going in the public eye and from her Empress duties, and began to live a life in hiding obsessing over her youthful image and escaping her problems by traveling abroad.
In September 1898, Empress Elisabeth was assassinated by an anarchist while in Switzerland at the age of 60. Europe was devastated by the loss of a monarch. Her beauty and rebellious nature lived on through thousands of commemorative images and coins, postcards, statues, and souvenirs that flooded European markets. Television shows and movies have served to commemorate her life, like the German made historical-drama series The Empresson Netflix. The show highlights important moments in her royal career while also showcasing the hardships that came with being a part of the royal family.
The Sisi Museum
The first room of the tour covers Elisabeth’s untimely death and includes a plaster death mask and original death certificate. Following this section, guests are introduced to beautiful gowns and other personal items that the monarch wore in her everyday life. The third section covers her childhood from her birth on Christmas Eve to her engagement to Franz Joseph.
Next, her life in the royal court is shared with a replica of her 1867 white gown worn at her coronation as the Queen of Hungary and the famous star gown. The coronation gown is trimmed with lace and topped with a midnight blue velvet bodice with pearl lace. Also, in this section is the famous painting of Elisabeth that has immortalized her memory. The painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter shows the 28-year old empress wearing a gown covered in diamond stars paired with cascading diamond stars in her hair. Both dresses were created by Parisian couturier Charles Frederic Worth.
In the next exhibit of the Sisi Museum, details and memorabilia from Elisabeth’s travels are on display. When Franz Joseph forbade her from partaking in politics, Elisabeth began traveling the world by yacht and train. An Austrian company gifted The Empress her own train cars, of which a replica can be seen and explored in the museum.
The last section in the museum goes into detail on the last moments of Empress Elisabeth’s life when she was assassinated in Geneva. Some of her personal belongings from her luggage like a traveling medicine pack are on exhibit here as well as a dark black overcoat and hat she wore on that fateful day.
The living quarters of both Empress Elisabeth and Franz Joseph may also be toured as part of the Imperial Apartments. The rooms include Emperor Franz Joseph’s study and bedroom, as well as Elisabeth’s Salon, dressing room, exercise room, and bathroom. Each room features many original furniture pieces like photos, Franz Joseph’s desk, Elizabeth’s bathtub, and her gymnastics equipment.
The Sisi Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The ticket office closes at 4:30 p.m. but you may continue your tours in the Sisi Museum until 5:00 p.m. and at the Imperial Apartments until 5:30 p.m. It is strongly recommended to buy tickets online in advance. Tickets are sold by time slots and there may be none available if you try to purchase tickets day-of. Tickets begin at $20.00 and go all the way up to $50.00 based on which tour and museum experience you are looking for. This museum definitely did a fantastic job at bringing to life the history of the Austrian Imperial Court and memorializing the lives of Elisabeth and Franz Joseph.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig