When was Sisi’s last big performance in Vienna? Which building did Emperor Franz Joseph have you build to keep you longer and more often in Vienna?
No matter where Sisi went, she was greeted with enthusiasm. She herself felt overwhelmed by her imperial duties and tried to avoid them as best she could.
The rigid traditions of the Viennese court and the strict protocol did not appeal to her at all. She maintained a much more liberal attitude, as did her son Rudolf. Both had doubts about the longevity of the monarchy and the multinational state, and were ultimately right.
Sisi always found the residential city of Vienna gloomy and oppressive, even describing it as a “dungeon”. She withdrew more and more into her own dream world, consisting of traveling throughout Europe, reading and writing poetry, and the permanent longing for the sea. As a result, she increasingly became an outsider at the Viennese court, felt misunderstood and neglected her imperial representational duties. At her own silver wedding, however, she couldn’t get away from the protocol dr
The silver wedding – a parade on the Ringstrasse
Sisi at the age of 41 at the silver wedding
Elisabeth’s last major appearance at the Viennese court was in 1879 on the occasion of the silver wedding anniversary of the imperial couple. The painter Hans Makart designed a procession along the newly built Ringstrasse in honor of the imperial couple and for the inauguration of the Ringstrasse.
The procession started in the Prater and led along the unfinished Ringstrasse. It is assumed that there will be around 14,000 participants . Not only was homage paid to the empire, but also to all classes and professional groups of the population. Makart directed the film and sat on a Lipizzan horse disguised as Rubens.
The imperial family then celebrated the silver wedding anniversary in the palace of Archduke Carl Ludwig, Franz Joseph’s younger brother, on Favoritenstrasse. This was only intended for a private circle, and the family history of the Habsburgs was reconstructed.
After that, Sisi avoided her imperial representational duties and was hardly ever to be found in Vienna. She preferred southern climes, sun and sea.
The Hermes Villa – the castle of dreams
Hermes Villa in Lainzer Tiergarten © CC BY-SA 4.0
The emperor had Sisi build a private palace , the Hermesvilla in the Lainzer Tiergarten . There she was able to devote herself to her love of poetry and write over 600 printed pages of poems. She admired the poet Heinrich Heine and lived in the fantasy world of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night ‘s Dream”.
The Hermesvilla was described by Elisabeth as the “castle of dreams “ . In one of her poems she referred to it as Titania’s magic castle. Outside and inside, the Hermesvilla was designed according to Sisi’s preferences: with statues of the gods Hermes and Achilles , as well as a bust of Heinrich Heine.
The palace is located in the former hunting grounds of the Habsburgs , the Lainzer Tiergarten, a 2,600 hectare nature reserve on the outskirts of Vienna. However, Sisi was often not there.
In the last 15 years of her life Elisabeth was restless and constantly traveling throughout Europe. Unfortunately, Franz Joseph’s idea of keeping Sisi in Vienna longer with this palace did not work out.
Tip from Sisi’s Amazing Journey: The Hermesvilla can also be visited and can easily be combined with a walk through the Lainzer Tiergarten. Hermes Villa : VIENNA MUSEUM
