Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916) and Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) (1837-1898)

[Majesty79]

Also she had been warned that Geneva was a dangerous area at that time for members of royal and noble families, the Empress insisted on leaving the Beau Rivage Hotel without any bodyguards. Just her lady-in-waiting Irma Sztaray accompanied her on the walk along the quai. Elisabeth never liked to have any kind of bodyguards around her who were controlling every step she made. I would recommend the book written by Irma Sztaray for detailed info on the incident.

As for Elisabeth as a mother - She loved her first child. But...After her first daughter Sophie's death, she blamed herself for it (she had taken her with her on a journey, against peoples' advice not to do it. Sophie got sick and died) and never got over the loss and the guilt. This certainly influenced her behaviour and relationship to her future children. Just Marie Valerie, her last youngest daughter got all the love (some even say too much love) from Elisabeth. She was called 'her favourite'.

 

[silverstar]

I think forums are interesting and they also give feedback
on the number of hits, you can gauge popularity and public interest.
In my forum, Fergie has topped 2000 hits... not a bad score
easily outdoing Lady Di and Princess Anne....
but the star of them all is Empress Elizabeth with well over
4000 hits.
It proves that even now in 2011, so many years after her untimely death, she still fascinates people and has become a Royal Legend
Celebheaven • View topic - Empress Elizabeth of Austria


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[Cory]

An organisation of the hungarian minority in romania (National Council of Hungarians from Transilvania) asked the local authorities of Cluj-Napoca to have the statue of Empress Elisabeth of Austria on Cetatuia hill:

Maghiarii vor s

Maghiarii vor sa amplaseze bustul fostei imparatese Austro -Ungare, Sisi, pe Dealul Cetatuia VIDEO - Politic/Administrativ - Stiri de Cluj

 

[Grandduchess24]

I am sad for the way empress Elisabeth died by being stabbed.damn that anti royal. I am sure emperor Franz Joseph grieved her death.

 

[MAfan]

Besided her murder didn't want to kill her originally; his plan was to kill the Duke of Orleans, the claimant to the French throne, but at the last moment the Duke cancelled his journey to Geneva so Lucheni bent over Elisabeth.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Ok, I've seen pictures of Elisabeth and though she is in no way unattractive, I am stunned that she was regarded as the most beautiful woman in Europe.

 

[Kasumi]

Empress of Austria found in Meath kennel - The Irish Times - Sat, Jan 28, 2012

LONG FEARED lost, an important painting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria - on horseback in Ireland - has been found behind a wardrobe in kennels in Co Meath.

The oil painting, in a frame decorated with scrolling shamrock, depicts Elisabeth of Austria, wife of the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph I, seated on a bay mare called Domino while hunting in Co Meath. It was commissioned by the empress and sent as a thank you gift to the Ward Union Hunt following her visits to Ireland in 1879 and 1880. But the painting was lost decades ago and only rediscovered last year stored behind a wardrobe at the hunt's kennels headquarters in Co Meath.

Now the oil painting, by Wilhelm Richter - a well-known 19th century Austrian portrait painter - is being donated by the Ward Union Hunt to the Royal Dublin Society on "indefinite loan".

The painting is not the first piece of Sisi memorabilia to surface in Ireland. In 2010, a riding whip decorated with a silver band bearing the imperial Habsburg crest, which she had presented to Capt Robert Fowler, master of the Meath Hunt in 1879, was found in the attic of Rahinstown House, Co Meath by his great, great, grand-nephew Charles Fowler. It was sent for sale to Adam's and sold for €37,000 to a collector in the Channel Islands who outbid a museum devoted to the Empress in Austria.
.

 

[Benedict XVI]

Does anyone know his reactions to all the deaths of important people like crown prince Rudolph , archduke Franz Ferdinand and empress Elisabeth.

 

[Kataryn]

Both his daughters Gisela and Marie Valerie left reports of his reaction - he suffered severely and needed a lot of support from his daughters and family.

 

[MAfan]

It was reported that, when he was told of his wife's assassination, his first words have been "Mir bleibt doch gar nichts erspart auf dieser Welt!", "I really don't escape anything in this world!".

 

[Kit]

He said this when he was told about Franz Ferdinand ' s assassination. "You do not know how much I have loved this woman! " were his words concerning Elisabeth's death.

 

[MAfan]

According to both Nicole Avril's biography on Elisabeth and Alan Palmer's biography on Franz Joseph, he said the words I mentioned above when he was told of Elisabeth death.
Palmer adds that after exclaiming "Mir bleibt doch gar nichts erspart auf dieser Welt!", the Emperor whispered "Niemand weiß, wie sehr wir uns geliebt haben" ("Nobody knows how much we loved each other"). These words have also been reported in a different version, "Niemand weiß, wie sehr ich diese Frau geliebt habe" ("Nobody knows how much I have loved this woman").

 

[Kit]

Read Hamann's book about Elisabeth it is as always the most reliable source. Even his daughter confirmed his words. And regarding Rudolph 's dead we don't know his first words cause Elisabeth told him in private about it.the servants were too afraid of him and his reaction. Later he said "my son has died like a Schneider" which refers to a very cowardly way of dying. Schneider is a stag who tries to hide from the hunters.

 

[Benedict XVI]

What is the name of it?

 

[Kit]

in German: Elisabeth - Kaiserin wider Willen. in English it is called The reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamann. Her biographies about Elisabeth and Rudolph are unsurpassed

 

[silverstar]

So many paintings of Elizabeth with a wasp waist ....
it must have been so fashionable back then !
http://i43.tinypic.com/1z3mm3n.jpg

 

[silverstar]

Finally got my hot little hands on " The Lonely Empress" by Joan Haslip.
400 plus pages !
looks good so far !
Archduchess Sophie tried to marry her son the young Emporer Francis into the Prussian dynasty but Bismark was having none of it...
so she then turned her eyes to the young daughters of her sister Ludovica in Bavaria.... the daughters of a mere Duke.... but then.....

 

[Kataryn]

It is maybe interesting to know that said Prussian princess lived two years longer than Franz Joseph and was very much loved by her people...

The current House of Hesse is descended from Princess Maria Anna of Prussia, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel. If you look her up on German Wikipedia, you may get an idea why Franz Joseph fell for her...

Interestingly she chose herself to convert to Catholizism, was thrown out of the House of Prussia for that (I bet if she had been able to marry Franz Joseph she would have been allowed to stay...) and lived for her last years like a nun, being famous for her charity work.

Maria Anna von Preußen

 

[silverstar]

The parallels with Marie Antoinette go on and on...
(though Franz Joseph was far more intelligent and astute
than Louis 16th ...). but reading the biog I see that
Eliz sis Maria ... became the Queen of Naples !
and years before, Marie Antoinette's sis was the Qu of Naples too !

Got to say though, Empress Eliz often seems very spoiled and selfish.... the winter she crossed the Atlantic to swan about in Madeira for example .... for what seems like bogus health reasons.... leaving her hubby and two young children behind in wintry Vienna.
Then the leisurely return voyage with stop overs in Spain, Malta and Corfu.
Emperor Franz was far too indulgent with his spoiled, self centered wife.... another husband might have took her over his knee...............

 

[Kit]

Read The reluctant Empress by Brigitte Hamann and you will understand Elisabeth and her behaviour better. To compare her with Marie Antoinette is utter nonsense! She was a very intelligent yet deeply unhappy and therefore self-centered woman who was most definitely ill in 1859. The medical reports still exist. Her children were well looked after by their grandmother and winter in Vienna is not winter in Russia! It would Never have been possible to take them with her after the death of her eldest daughter in Hungary ......

 

[MarkUK]

I'm especially interested in Royal figures who have been passed over for the succession. Emperor Franz Josef's father Archduke Franz Karl was heir to the Throne in 1848, but was persuaded to renounce his claims in favour of his more dynamic son. It seems that Franz Karl was considered somewhat mentally challenged to assume the Crown and he was only too happy to live the life of a privileged Archduke without the responsibilities of being Emperor. His wife I believe played a major role in elevating her son to the Throne ahead of his father. Franz Karl died in 1878.
Emperor Franz Josef was born 182 years ago today.

 

[theresa_225]

...I don't know if she hoped for a marriage of Franz Joseph and the Countess of Trani, but it is true that Marie Valerie hoped that her father remarried...

As I remembered, Marie Valerie really hoped her father would marry her aunt, the Countess of Trani because she was "calmer." (I'm working with my memory so if anyone also read the same thing and I made mistake(s), feel free to correct me).

The emperor also wanted to marry Isabelle (the third daughter of the Count of Paris) but by than, she was engaged to her cousin, the Duke of Guise.
.

 

[Kataryn]

but reading the biog I see that
Eliz sis Maria ... became the Queen of Naples !
and years before, Marie Antoinette's sis was the Qu of Naples too !

The Habsburg rules a great part of Italy first as kings of Spain and then on marrying all important heiresses. When Habsburg lost the War of the Spanish Succession, Naples-Two Sicilies became independant from Spain but stayed under the new rule of the Spanish/French Bourbons. so for them it was extremely important to connect to Habsburg and the emperor/empress through marriage. Thus the Bourbons of Parma and of Naples married Archduchesses while Isabella of Parma became wife of Joseph II. After Napoleon, the Barvarians were the best connected Royal family in Europe: Napoleon III. was a cousin of the Bavarian princesses as well as Franz Joseph, Oscar I. was married to one, too and was thusly a cousin-in-law of both of them. The queen of Prussia and Saxony were aunts... no wonder the king of Naples married one of these princesses as well and became part of the family.

 

[Valerie Rose]

In respectful remembrance of Empress Elisabeth: December 24, 1837 - September 10, 1898. May she rest in peace.

 

[Alexey 1904]

Emperor Franz Josef was not a nice guy when it came to the story of his nephew, Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie Chotek, as described in 'The Assassination of the Archduke'. He was a downright tyrant to Sophie and their children, Sophie, Max and Ernst, and even worse after Sophie's death. I am glad there is no monarchy in Austria any more.

 

[MAfan]

What did the book said about that point?

As far as I know, Franz Josef didn't have anything personally against Sophie, his only problem was that her rank wasn't high enough to make her the future Empress and Queen. And on the contrary, if I recall correctly, the Emperor wrote quite sympathetic words about Sophie after meeting her.

 

[Stefan]

What did the book said about that point?

As far as I know, Franz Josef didn't have anything personally against Sophie, his only problem was that her rank wasn't high enough to make her the future Empress and Queen. And on the contrary, if I recall correctly, the Emperor wrote quite sympathetic words about Sophie after meeting her.

As far as i remember he meet them not very often in private but mostly at official occasions where all was regulated according to the strict Protocol.

 

[Kit]

Well FJ was the legal guardian of their 4 children after S. and FF.'s death in Sarajevo. The Hohenbergs also inherited a hunting lodge from FJ after his death. I have no information on how close their relationship was to their grand-uncle but he took care of them and their education. Even after his death they were well taken care of in his last will. What's more they had a close relationship to their cousin Emperor Karl and AD Otto. Empress Zita even claimed in one Interview that FJ always had the best relationship with AD FF and Duchess Sophie. There is even a video on youtube filmed at Karl and Zita's wedding in which you can see FJ and FF laughing together. I really doubt that their relationship and FJ's relationship with Sophie on a personal level was as bad as rumour has it.

 

[fortchoteau]

The Hungarian Child – Of Catastrophe, Consummation and Compromise

In 1855 Empress Elisabeth, the woman who would become Queen of Hungary, made her first trip to that land. Traveling from Vienna to Buda, she left behind her two year old daughter, Sophie. This, her first child, had been taken from her right after birth. This was done by Elisabeth’s mother in law, Princess Sophie of Bavaria, who decided that the child would be named after herself. She did not think that Elisabeth, at the tender age of 18 could properly rear the child. In the ensuing two years Elisabeth was only allowed to see the child infrequently and always in the presence of her mother-in-law. One of the young Empress’s emotional outlets was to travel far away from the suffocating court protocol of Vienna to the wilder east of the empire, Hungary. It was here where she would to come feel most at ease and gain a degree of privacy otherwise lacking at the stuffy court in Vienna.​

Yet it was on this trip to Hungary that she soon received news that young Sophie had suddenly fallen ill. The sickness turned life threatening. She hurried back to Vienna only to have the child die in her arms. Always known to be psychologically fragile, Elisabeth fell completely apart. Bed ridden for weeks, guilt stricken and in the throes of a bitter depression we can only guess what must have gone through her mind. If only she had not gone away, perhaps the child would have survived. One might suppose that Elisabeth would never go anywhere near Hungary again. Incredibly though, this did not break the link between them.

Read the rest here...
The Hungarian Child

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Franz Joseph ruled Austria under the name of Franz Joseph I. Are there any documents when he was still the Archduke Franz Joseph, that he would take the name of Franz II as Emperor and not use Joseph?

The Empress Elisabeth's youngest brother is Max Emmanuel. Was Max actually his first name or was Maximilian his first name?

Archduke Ludwig Viktor (Louis Victor) was the youngest brother of Emperor Francis Joseph I. Was there a particular relative Ludwig Viktor was named after?

The Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, loved to write plays and poems. She was a talented amateur artist. She particularly enjoyed painting flowers.

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After the death of her son Rudolf in 1889, Empress Elisabeth wore black exclusively.
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In Vienna, Emperor Franz Joseph, in 1857, ordered the construction of the Ringstrasse, lined with a series of immense buildings, a process which took more than thirty years to complete.
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In Long to Reign?, A. W. Purdue wrote:

Hauntingly beautiful, Empress Elisabeth captivated her Emperor but could not abide the austere formality of the Habsburg court.

I know that Franz Joseph was captivated by Elisabeth.
I know that Elisabeth did not like the formality of the Imperial Court.
I had never heard Elisabeth described as 'hauntingly beautiful'.
Elisabeth is truly beautiful!!

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Franz Joseph as a young man:

www.lessingimages.com/viewimage.asp?i=26010160+&cr=4
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One of the men responsible for Rudolf's education came to Empress Elisabeth begging her for assistance.
The gentleman feared that the military training of the delicate Crown Prince was endangering Rudolf's life.
The Empress presented her husband with a written ultimatum: either she would be in charge of everything concerning the children until their majority or she would leave him.
Franz Joseph gave in.
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