This year, I had the opportunity to visit Sisi Museum & the Imperial Apartments in Austria... For those who have no idea who she is - just like me before this visit - Sissi is Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie. The empress consort of (wife of) Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. There are hundreds of books and articles written about her.
In short:
She was born in Munich, Bavaria (December 24th 1837).
At the age of sixteen, she got married to her Cousin Franz Joseph in Vienna on April 24, 1854 who was suppose to marry her elder sister Helene but fell in love with Elisabeth instead.
She had four children:
Archduchess Sofie of Austria (1855-1857).
Archduchess Gisela of Austria (1856-1932).
The hoped-for crown prince Rodulf (1858-1889).
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (1868-1924).
She didn’t adapt very well with the formalities that were attached to her royal role, compared to the carefree life she enjoyed in her childhood.
Special things about her:
She loved horse riding.
She was obsessed with her figure and tried all her life to starve herself in order to keep her (famous 18 inch) waist line in shape by eating a strict diet (meat juice) and having her own gym in her bedroom (you can notice from the pictures and I have seen her model and gym in the museum).
She had beautiful long dark hair (to her ankles !).
Interestingly, when she got older, she refused to pose for portraits, as she didn’t want people to remember her in an older version of Sissi!
Her tragic life:
She didn’t have a happy marriage, nor a happy life. She didn’t like the royal life.
She didn’t have the option of raising her own children. They were raised by her mother in law instead (she is also her mother’s sister).
She lost her first baby Sofie at the age of two from scarlet fever.
She lost her only son Rodulf when shot himself dead.
Her own tragic end happened at the age of 60 when Luigi Lucheni, an Italian anarchist stabbed her.
As I mentioned, there are books and articles to read, movies to watch and museums to visit in order to know her better.
She was born in Munich, Bavaria (December 24th 1837).
At the age of sixteen, she got married to her Cousin Franz Joseph in Vienna on April 24, 1854 who was suppose to marry her elder sister Helene but fell in love with Elisabeth instead.
She had four children:
Archduchess Sofie of Austria (1855-1857).
Archduchess Gisela of Austria (1856-1932).
The hoped-for crown prince Rodulf (1858-1889).
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (1868-1924).
She didn’t adapt very well with the formalities that were attached to her royal role, compared to the carefree life she enjoyed in her childhood.
Special things about her:
She loved horse riding.
She was obsessed with her figure and tried all her life to starve herself in order to keep her (famous 18 inch) waist line in shape by eating a strict diet (meat juice) and having her own gym in her bedroom (you can notice from the pictures and I have seen her model and gym in the museum).
She had beautiful long dark hair (to her ankles !).
Interestingly, when she got older, she refused to pose for portraits, as she didn’t want people to remember her in an older version of Sissi!
Her tragic life:
She didn’t have a happy marriage, nor a happy life. She didn’t like the royal life.
She didn’t have the option of raising her own children. They were raised by her mother in law instead (she is also her mother’s sister).
She lost her first baby Sofie at the age of two from scarlet fever.
She lost her only son Rodulf when shot himself dead.
Her own tragic end happened at the age of 60 when Luigi Lucheni, an Italian anarchist stabbed her.
As I mentioned, there are books and articles to read, movies to watch and museums to visit in order to know her better.
If you are wondering why I wrote all this about her, its because I've been in her museum, touched a side of her life, and somehow, she fascinated me.
Links to look at:
3 comments:
Just wanted to point out a small typing error, you mentioned that she got married in 1854 but the first sentence says she was born in 1937.
Yes I was wondering why you had posted about her till you mentioned the reason at the end of the post. But I am wondering, what exactly fascinates you about her? Is it her obsession with her figure or what? :-D
Hi "dubai guy"..
Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to read it.
I would also like to thank you for pointing out the typing error.
As with your question what did fascinate me.. well.. Definitely
not her obsession with her figure, actually I found it a bit extreme.. I mean meat juice?? Give me a break - i saw the juicer that they used to squeeze the meat..!- I just liked the side of her personality that didn’t like the royal life, and its commitments, and formalities. The fact that she managed to escape all that.. to tell you the truth some did consider her as mentally unstable, but how can I blame her.
In short, I’m not sure what exactly I was fascinated about, I just came out of their royal apartments craving to know more about her.
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