Elisabeth von Österreich-Ungarn

Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie of Bavaria, known within her family and circle of friends as “Sisi,” was born on December 24, 1837, in Munich. She came from the Wittelsbach dynasty and was the daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria and Princess Ludovika, a sister of King Ludwig of Bavaria. She spent most of her childhood at Possenhofen Castle on Lake Starnberg, away from the formal Munich court. There she grew up comparatively freely, developing a love of nature, riding, long walks, and animals. She was interested in drawing and poetry, while lessons and social obligations appealed to her far less than an independent life. She was especially close to her older sister Helene. Helene was originally intended to marry the young Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph. At a meeting in Bad Ischl in 1853, however, everything changed. The 23-year-old emperor became attracted to fifteen-year-old Elisabeth and eventually asked for her hand. Elisabeth was flattered by his attention and fell in love with Franz Joseph, but she was also frightened by the position and responsibilities awaiting her. The engagement was announced five days after the meeting. It was greeted with enthusiasm in Bavaria, while Vienna initially received the news coolly. On April 24, 1854, Elisabeth married Franz Joseph in Vienna’s Augustinian Church. At sixteen, she became Empress of Austria; she later also held the titles Queen of Hungary and Queen of Croatia and Bohemia. The young woman was scarcely prepared for the strict world of the Habsburg court. Its rules, countless receptions, and constant scrutiny oppressed her. Her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, wielded great influence over the court and her son and tried to shape Elisabeth according to her own ideas. Franz Joseph sincerely loved his wife, but he was unable to resolve the conflict between his mother and his wife. Elisabeth also felt powerless as a mother. Her first daughter, Sophie, was born on March 5, 1855, and her second daughter, Gisela, in July 1856. Sophie largely took over the children’s care and restricted Elisabeth’s access to them. Only after Franz Joseph intervened could the girls be housed closer to their mother. The death of little Sophie in 1857 during a journey through Hungary struck Elisabeth deeply. She withdrew, developed a lasting tendency toward melancholy and depression, and became distant even from her surviving daughter. On August 21, 1858, the long-awaited heir to the throne, Rudolf, was born. His birth improved Elisabeth’s position at court, but Sophie again assumed responsibility for the child’s education. Elisabeth later objected especially to her son’s strict military training, though she was able to influence it only to a limited extent. Rudolf suffered from seeing his mother so rarely. It was only with her youngest daughter, Marie Valerie, born in 1868, that Elisabeth insisted on taking charge of the child’s upbringing herself. Marie Valerie became her preferred companion and accompanied her on many journeys. Elisabeth’s relationship with Hungary acquired particular importance. While she experienced Viennese court life as narrow and rigid, she found a calmer atmosphere in Hungary and was impressed by the independence of its people. She learned Hungarian, studied the country’s history and literature, and maintained contacts with Hungarian politicians such as Ferenc Deák and Gyula Andrássy. Her personal closeness to Hungary made her an important mediator between Hungarian political forces and Franz Joseph. Her efforts helped bring about the Compromise of 1867, which created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth were crowned King and Queen of Hungary in Budapest. As a sign of their bond with the country, they received Gödöllő Palace. Elisabeth particularly enjoyed staying there and in Budapest. Marie Valerie, who was born in Budapest, was known at court as the “Hungarian child.” Elisabeth increasingly withdrew from court duties. Health problems, exhaustion, and psychological crises intensified her desire for distance. Beginning in 1860, she undertook extensive journeys, including trips to Madeira, Corfu, England, France, and various parts of the Mediterranean. She later visited Morocco, Algeria, Malta, Turkey, and Egypt. Travel became a way for her to escape the court, family tensions, and her own inner unrest. Eventually she spent only a few months a year in Vienna. She often traveled alone and for periods lived almost independently of her family. Elisabeth devoted extraordinary attention to her appearance. She kept her weight low through strict diets, hours of riding, long walks, and intensive gymnastics. Her exceptionally long hair was cared for for several hours every day. She used numerous beauty treatments, wore tightly laced corsets, and after the age of 32 avoided official portraits and photographs in order to preserve the image of her timeless beauty. At the same time, she read extensively, learned languages, and wrote large quantities of poetry under the influence of Heinrich Heine. In her poems she explored her travels, loneliness, and critical attitude toward the Habsburg world. The greatest blow of her life was the death of her only son, Rudolf, on January 30, 1889, at Mayerling. Rudolf died together with his young companion Mary Vetsera; whether it was a joint suicide or a crime remained disputed. Elisabeth believed that her son had been murdered and never recovered from the loss. In the following years she also lost her father, her sister, her mother, and her close friend Gyula Andrássy. She usually wore black, avoided public life, and often concealed her face from curious onlookers. On September 10, 1898, Elisabeth was murdered during a stay in Geneva. The Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni attacked her with a sharpened file. At first Elisabeth scarcely noticed the injury and continued on her way, but shortly afterward she collapsed. She died at the age of 60 from the severe stab wound. Franz Joseph had been her husband for 44 years and mourned her deeply. Her body was taken to Vienna and buried in the Capuchin Church. After her death, Elisabeth became a multifaceted historical and cultural figure. Her life was adapted into operettas, musicals, ballets, films, television productions, and novels. The “Sissi” film trilogy starring Romy Schneider in particular shaped the romantic image of the young empress. Later portrayals emphasized her loneliness, psychological burdens, longing for freedom, and difficult position between family, court, and politics. Orders, bridges, districts, gardens, and other places were also named after Elisabeth. She thus remained remembered both as Empress of Austria and as a queen closely associated with Hungary, as well as a woman who spent her life seeking personal freedom.