1. Early in her marriage, Empress Elisabeth of Austria was at odds with her aunt and mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, who took over the rearing of Empress Elisabeth of Austria's children.
106 Facts About Empress Elisabeth of Austria
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The birth of a son, Rudolf, improved Empress Elisabeth of Austria's standing at court, but her health suffered under the strain.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria came to develop a deep kinship with Hungary and helped to bring about the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary in 1867.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria withdrew from court duties and travelled widely, unaccompanied by her family.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was obsessively concerned with maintaining her youthful figure and beauty, developing a restrictive diet and wearing extremely tightlaced corsets to keep her waist looking very small.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria Amalie Eugenie was born on 24 December 1837 in the Herzog-Max-Palais in Munich, Bavaria.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was the third child and second daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, the half-sister of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.
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Princess Ludovika and Duchess Helene were invited to journey to the resort of Bad Ischl, Upper Empress Elisabeth of Austria to receive his formal proposal of marriage.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's mother hoped them seeing each other again would end with a possible engagement for Sisi.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria did not propose to Helene, but instead, he defied his mother and informed her that if he could not have Elisabeth, he would not marry at all.
11.
The marriage was finally consummated three days later, and Empress Elisabeth of Austria received a dower equal to US$240,000 as of 2015.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria experienced fits of coughing and became anxious and frightened whenever she had to descend a narrow or steep staircase.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's mother-in-law is generally considered to be the source of the malicious pamphlet although there is no evidence supporting that claim.
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In 1857, Elisabeth visited Hungary for the first time with her husband and two daughters, and it left a deep and lasting impression upon her, which many historians attribute to the fact that in Hungary, she found a welcome respite from the constraints of Austrian court life.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria felt her innermost soul reach out in sympathy to the proud, steadfast people of this land.
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Unlike Archduchess Sophie, who despised the Hungarians, Empress Elisabeth of Austria felt such an affinity for them that she began to learn Hungarian.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's death pushed Elisabeth, who was already prone to bouts of melancholy, into periods of heavy depression, which would haunt her for the rest of her life.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria turned away from her living daughter and began to neglect her.
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In December 1857, Empress Elisabeth of Austria became pregnant for the third time, and her mother, who had been concerned about her daughter's physical and mental health, hoped that this new pregnancy would help her recover.
20.
On 21 August 1858, Empress Elisabeth of Austria finally gave birth to an heir, Rudolf Franz Karl Josef.
21.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was a personal advocate for the Hungarian Count Gyula Andrassy, who was rumored to be her lover.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria set forth his views clearly and plainly.
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When Empress Elisabeth of Austria was still blocked from controlling her son's upbringing and education, she openly rebelled.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria seized on the excuse and left her husband and children, to spend the winter in seclusion.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria ate hardly anything and slept badly, and Skoda observed a recurrence of her lung disease.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's feet were sometimes so swollen that she could walk only laboriously, and with the support of others.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria recovered quickly at the spa, but instead of returning home to assuage the gossip about her absence, she spent more time with her own family in Bavaria.
28.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria returned in August 1862, shortly before her husband's birthday, but immediately suffered from a violent migraine and vomited four times en route, which might support a theory that some of her complaints were stress-related and psychosomatic.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was now more assertive in her defiance of her husband and mother-in-law than before, openly opposing them on the subject of the military education of Rudolf, who, like his mother, was extremely sensitive and not suited to life at court.
30.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria's decision was at once a deliberate personal choice and a political negotiation: by returning to the marriage, she ensured that Hungary, with which she felt an intense emotional alliance, would gain an equal footing with Austria.
31.
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria poured all her repressed maternal feelings on her youngest daughter to the point of nearly smothering her.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was a stolid and sober man, a political conservative who was still guided by his mother and her adherence to the strict Spanish Court ceremony regarding both his public and domestic life, whereas Elisabeth inhabited a different world altogether.
34.
Restless to the point of hyperactivity, naturally introverted, and emotionally distant from her husband as she got older, she fled him as well as her duties at the Vienna court, avoiding them both as much as possible; as a means of escape from her life and her misery, Empress Elisabeth of Austria embarked on a life of endless travel and saw little of her children.
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The Empress Elisabeth of Austria slept very little and spent hours reading and writing at night, and even took up smoking, a shocking habit for women, which made her the further subject of already-avid gossip.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria had a special interest in history, philosophy, and literature, and developed a profound reverence for the German lyric poet and radical political thinker Heinrich Heine, whose letters she collected.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria tried to make a name for herself by writing Heine-inspired poetry.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's wanderlust is defined by her own work:.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was an emotionally complex woman, and perhaps due to the melancholy and eccentricity that was considered a given characteristic of her Wittelsbach lineage, she was interested in the treatment of the mentally ill.
40.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria never recovered from the tragedy, sinking further into melancholy.
41.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria carried a white parasol made of leather in addition to a concealing fan to hide her face from the curious.
42.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria emphasised her extreme slenderness through the practice of tightlacing.
43.
Corsets of the time were split-busk types, fastening up the front with hooks and eyes, but Empress Elisabeth of Austria had more rigid, solid-front ones made in Paris out of leather, "like those of Parisian courtesans", probably to hold up under the stress of such strenuous lacing, "a proceeding which sometimes took quite an hour".
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's defiant flaunting of this exaggerated dimension angered her mother-in-law.
45.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria developed a horror of fat women and transmitted this attitude to her youngest daughter, who was terrified when, as a little girl, she first met Queen Victoria.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria disliked both expensive accoutrements and the protocol that dictated constant changes of clothing, preferring simple, monochromatic riding habit-like attire.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria never wore petticoats or any other "underlinen", as they added bulk, and was often literally sewn into her clothes, to bypass waistbands, creases, and wrinkles and to further emphasize the wasp waist that became her hallmark.
48.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria took up fencing in her 50s with equal discipline.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria rode every day for hours on end, becoming a skilled horsewoman, possibly the best-known of her time.
50.
On one occasion in 1878, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria astonished her travelling companions when she unexpectedly visited a restaurant incognito, where she drank champagne, ate a broiled chicken and an Italian salad, and finished with a "considerable quantity of cake".
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria may have satisfied her urge to binge in secret on other occasions; in 1881, she purchased an English country house and had a spiral staircase built from her sitting room into the kitchen, so that she could reach it in private.
52.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria is known as one of the most beautiful and famous women of 19th century Europe.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria's hair was so long and heavy that she often complained that the weight of the elaborate double braids and pins gave her headaches.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria used these captive hours during grooming to learn languages; she spoke fluent English and French, and added modern Greek to her Hungarian studies.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was shrouded in a white, laced peignoir, her hair, unfastened and reaching to the floor, enfolded her entire body.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria used cosmetics and perfume sparingly, as she wished to showcase her natural beauty.
57.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria appeared to favor "Creme Celeste", but used a wide variety of other facial tonics and waters.
58.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria slept without a pillow on a metal bedstead, which she believed was better for retaining and maintaining her upright posture; either raw veal or crushed strawberries lined her nightly leather facial mask.
59.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was heavily massaged, and often slept with cloths soaked in either violet- or cider-vinegar above her hips to preserve her slim waist; her neck was wrapped with cloths soaked in Kummerfeld-toned washing water.
60.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria had an aversion to being photographed, especially later in her life, and was quick with a fan or sunshade to prevent her portrait being taken.
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On her imperial steamer, Miramar, Empress Elisabeth travelled through the Mediterranean.
62.
The Empress Elisabeth of Austria visited countries not usually visited by European royals at the time: Morocco, Algeria, Malta, Turkey, and Egypt.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria often shopped at the Budapest fashion house, Antal Alter, which had become very popular with the fashion-crazed crowd.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria had been named as the probable lover of Lady Henrietta Blanche Hozier and father of Clementine Ogilvy Hozier.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria encouraged her husband Franz Joseph's close relationship with actress Katharina Schratt to assuage his loneliness during her long absences.
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On her journeys, Empress Elisabeth of Austria sought to avoid all public attention and crowds of people.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria was mostly travelling incognito, using pseudonyms like "Countess of Hohenembs".
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria refused to meet European monarchs when she did not feel like it.
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The most famous one was Constantin Christomanos, a future playwright and theater director, whose memoirs of Empress Elisabeth of Austria were banned by the Viennese court.
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The others were the lawyer Nikos Thermoyanis, Roussos Roussopoulos, who thanks to Empress Elisabeth of Austria became an honorary consul in Budapest, Constantin Manos, who became a resistance fighter against the Turks in Crete, and Marinos Marinaky, a future sportsman and co-founder of the famous Greek football club Panathinaikos.
71.
The last tutor who accompanied the Empress Elisabeth of Austria was the English-Greek Frederic Barker.
72.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria served as a middleman for negotiations to sell the Achilleion.
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On her voyages, Empress Elisabeth was attended by a Swedish therapist, Arvid Ludvig Kellgren, to whom she even wrote romantic poetry.
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In 1898, despite warnings of possible assassination attempts, the 60-year-old Empress Elisabeth of Austria traveled incognito to Geneva, Switzerland.
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Since the Empress Elisabeth of Austria despised processions, she insisted that they walk without the other members of her entourage.
76.
The Empress Elisabeth of Austria then lost consciousness and collapsed next to her.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria revived somewhat and when Sztaray asked her if she was in pain, she replied, "No".
78.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was carried back to the Hotel Beau-Rivage by six sailors on a stretcher improvised from a sail, cushions and two oars.
79.
Until this sac filled, the beating of her heart was not impeded, which is why the Empress Elisabeth of Austria had been able to walk from the site of the assault and up the boat's boarding ramp.
80.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was caught by two cabdrivers and a sailor, then secured by a gendarme.
81.
Since Empress Elisabeth of Austria was famous for preferring the common man to courtiers, known for her charitable works, and considered such a blameless target, Lucheni's sanity was questioned initially.
82.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was declared to be sane, but was tried as a common murderer, not a political criminal.
83.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria's will stipulated that a large part of her jewel collection should be sold and the proceeds, were to be applied to various religious and charitable organizations.
84.
Everything else that the Empress had the power to bequeath, outside of the crown jewels and state property, was left to her granddaughter, Archduchess Elisabeth, Rudolf's only child.
85.
Various residences that Empress Elisabeth of Austria frequented are preserved and open to the public, including her Hofburg apartment and the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Hermesvilla in the Vienna Woods, the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl, the Achilleion on the Island of Corfu, and the Royal Palace of Godollo in Hungary.
86.
The Elisabeth Bridge connecting the towns Komarno in Slovakia and Komarom in Hungary, is named after the Empress.
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The Empress Elisabeth of Austria had donated the "Fountain under the Sycamores" for the locals.
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The Empress Elisabeth of Austria's specially built railway sleeping car is on display at the Technical Museum in Vienna.
89.
One set of 27 diamond stars was kept in the Imperial family and it is seen in a photograph that shows the dowry of Rudolf's daughter, Archduchess Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as "Erzsi", on the occasion of her wedding to Prince Otto of Windisch-Graetz in 1902.
90.
In 1992, the musical Empress Elisabeth of Austria premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna.
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Empress Elisabeth of Austria went on to become the most successful German-language musical of all time and has enjoyed numerous productions around the world, but has not been adapted for an English-speaking audience as of 2024.
92.
In early dramatizations, Empress Elisabeth of Austria appears as peripheral to her husband and son, and so is always shown as a mature character.
93.
Schneider's characterization of Elisabeth as a young woman is the first time the "young" Empress is seen on screen.
94.
An indirect reference to Empress Elisabeth of Austria is made in the 2004 film Phantom of the Opera.
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In 2014, to coincide with the presentation of the Pre-Fall 2015 "Metier d'arts" collection by luxury fashion house Chanel, shown in Leopoldskron Palace, creative director Karl Lagerfeld directed a short film featuring Cara Delevingne as Empress Elisabeth accompanied by Pharrell Williams.
96.
The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival within the Un Certain Regard section and actress Vicky Krieps, who played the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, was awarded ex aequo the Best Performance Prize.
97.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was portrayed in episode 1 of the 1974 British television series Fall of Eagles.
98.
The role of the actress portraying the Empress Elisabeth of Austria was played by Claire Bloom.
99.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was seen to have searched for happiness, but died a broken woman who never found it.
100.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria's book is both an accurate historical account of Elisabeth's travels to Greece and a very personal portrait of her character and her special relationship with the Greek people.
101.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria appears as a significant character in Gary Jennings' 1987 novel Spangle.
102.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria appears in a cameo in the short story The Road to Charing Cross in the 1999 book Flashman and the Tiger by George MacDonald Fraser.
103.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria's story inspired the 2003 children's book The Royal Diaries: Empress Elisabeth of Austria, The Princess Bride set during her teenage years in 1853 and 1854.
104.
The story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria is told in Susan Appleyard's 2016 ebook, In a Gilded Cage.
105.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria is a significant character in the novel Empty Theatre by Jac Jemc, published in February 2023 by Macmillan.
106.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was formally nominated for the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown, but never officially invested due to her death.