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


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Not that I am aware of. It was made clear by his mother while he was still a child that he would rule as FJ to mark a new era. And as always he did what his mother wanted. ?
 
Wikipedia lists his name as Maximilian Emanuel. Which would make sense, as their father was also a Maximilian.
 
Any portraits of Franz Joseph when he was young? On google the only thing I can find are photos of him when he is old.
I don't know a lot about him but from the minuscule I have read I feel a little sorry for him and feel he should have listened to his mother and married Helene.
Some of the things she did do seem spoiled and self centered but I definitely do not see her as being like Diana or Marie Antoinette. The latter 2 were uneducated and more into looking pretty than much else; Sissi was clearly vain but she did have a head on her shoulders at least.
Again I do not know enough about Sissi or Franz but it appears superficially that she had some similarities to Alexandra of Russia when it came to being an Empress; both their mother in laws knew they weren't cut out for the job.
 
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Do you recognize him?

20141016_2586.jpg


Or her?

20141016_2556.jpg
 
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I'm intending to visit Vienna this year and am hoping to visit the Hofburg and Schönbrunn Palaces for the state apartments including the Sissi museum. I've read loads about what to expect but I would appreciate knowing if there are lesser known aspects/things to look out for relating to the Empress, or if there is anywhere else in the locality that I should search out.
 
Dear Everybody,

Here is an interesting website providing articles about the Empress (Elisabeth of Austria - 1837-1898). It is a free online Elisabeth-Magazine, which is supported by (exclusive photos and information) Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. and Royal Palace of Gödöllő.

It is updated 2 or 4 times a week

If you are interested, please, visit: Empress Elisabeth of Austria - Sisi

Photo: Emil Rabending
m%C3%B3dos%C3%ADtott%2C%20kicsiny%C3%ADtett.jpg
 
100 years ago today Emperor Franz Joseph died in Schönbrunn.
 
At a ball Franz Joseph requested every dance with Elisabeth. Within days he asked for her hand in marriage. She wept in her mother's arms. Elisabeth expressed that of course she loved Franz, but if only Franz were not the Emperor.

Emperor Franz Joseph receives the homage of his subjects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6EgdZ0gexM
 
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Wonder if he married her sister if things would have turned out better.
 
Well, love is love I suppose. He fell in love with Elizabeth and that was it for him. He adored her until the day she died. It was just tragic that she was unsuited to being Empress. There may have been other issues come up if he had married her sister.
 
well not that he was a great emperior, but Elisabeth was such a tiresome creature. So selfish and yet she's always portrayed as adorable. FJ problaby would have bene happier with a more neutral wife and an arranged marriage. However, he would probably still have been an Ultra conservative and Austria Hungary woud have ended in disaster.
 
Nicholas loved Alexandria and that turned out bad for everyone. Naruhito demanded to marry Masako because he loved her and she buckled under the weight of the job as well; thankfully it hasn't lead to the dissolution of the Japanese empire. Sorry but its not just about love with these people it's about the capability to do a job and accept the responsibilities that come with the role. Both Elisabeth and Alexandria ignored their responsibilities of their role as Empress.
 
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I think that Nicholas would have been a bad Tsar with or without Alexandra (nee Princess Alix of hesse). She wasn't great at the job but I would not say she ignored her responsibiltiies. She was shy and awkward and priggish, and didn't make friends with the nobility, which was a problem. And she could not produce a healthy male heir, but that wasn't realy her fault. She tried to be a good mother and she tried to help Nicholas but her advice was poor.

However Elisabeth hardly bothered to do her job as Empress at all. She was off travelling, dieting, learning Greek.. leaving her children to nannies, governors and FJs family. She was utterly selfish.
 
Both Elisabeth and Alexandra were disasters for different reasons. My point was that when your marriage encompasses love and a occupational duty it's not good to just make a decision because you love someone and ignore the possibility that they aren't up to the job or willing to even try. I agree that Alexandra at least didn't abandon her role as a mother and she appears to have been able to do that role well ad opposed to Elisabeth who apparently failed at that as well.
I suppose the reason tha Alexandra gets so much hate is because of her political involvement.
 
Empress Elisabeth wrote poetry. Did she ever try to get it published?
 
Habsburg court life

I don't know if this is the appropriate thread to ask this, but in reading books on Emperor Franz Josef I and Empress Elisabeth, much was said about the strict court life of the Habsburgs that Empress Elisabeth hated. However, it was not really described. Can some tell me what the rules were and behavior at court was that made it so strict? Thanks.
 
duchessrachel said:
I don't know if this is the appropriate thread to ask this, but in reading books on Emperor Franz Josef I and Empress Elisabeth, much was said about the strict court life of the Habsburgs that Empress Elisabeth hated. However, it was not really described. Can some tell me what the rules were and behavior at court was that made it so strict? Thanks.
Click to expand...
If I remember it correctly the Habsburg Court still adhered to the so called Spanish etiquette. This was an amalgamation of the Spanish Court Protocol from the 1500s,the medieval protocol of the Holy Roman Empire and the protocol of the Ducal Court of Burgundy. Together this made for a very rigid and inflexible Court system.
 
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JR76 said:
If I remember it correctly the Habsburg Court still adhered to the so called Spanish etiquette. This was an amalgamation of the Spanish Court Protocol from the 1500s,the medieval protocol of the Holy Roman Empire and the protocol of the Ducal Court of Burgundy. Together this made for a very rigid and inflexible Court system.
Click to expand...

Spanish etiquette was mentioned in one of the books I read. Is there anywhere I can read about this Spanish etiquette?
 
A TV programme first broadcast in 1968, called "The Fall of the House of Hapsburg".
 
Was it easy for Emperor Franz Joseph to sign the declaration of war?
 
Kaiser Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1910:

 
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