Sisi

Empress Elisabeth of Austria

Full name
Elisabeth Eugenie Amalia
Nickname
Sisi
Famous for
her beauty (very long hair, very tiny waist)
her lifestyle (out of the ordinary)
her tragic death
her love for Hungary


"I lonely stroll on this earth, averted to desire and life; no companion to share my soullife; there has never been a soul that was able to understand me."
"You finally have to become an island to get along with your life. Things only keep their true beauty when they are alone."


Short biography
Born: Dec. 24 1837
Father: Max, Duke of Bavaria
Mother: Ludovika, daughter of the Bavarian King
Siblings: 7
Sisi grew up in Possenhofen at the Starnberger See, close to Munich


The Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph was meant to marry Elisabeth's older sister Helene, but the Emperor fell in love with Sisi. Two days after their first meeting the engagement was announced.

The wedding was on April 24 1854, when Sisi was only 16. They lived in the Castle Schoenbrunn in Vienna, where they had to live according to the Spanish Court Ceremonial, which was very strict. Sisi felt very restricted and not free any more. She started to exercise every day and she had her own fitness room built in the castle. She also enjoyed riding. She started writing poems to find her inner peace.

Family
1855: at the Age of 17, she gave birth to her first child Sophie Friederike Dorothea Maria Josepha, which was named after her mother-in-law. Sophie died when she was two years old.
1856: Gisela Louise Marie was born.
1858: Finally a boy: Rudolph Franz Karl Joseph; he commited suicide in 1889
1868: Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie was born in Ofen (Hungary); it was called "the Hungarian child" and was the only child she took care of herself.
After the birth of her son, Elisabeth started to travel and didn't stop till her death. Her most favourite destinations were Madeira, Korfu, Venice and Hungary (which was her shelter). Travelling was her possibility to escape the stiff palace. Her son's suicide in 1889 made her travel even more.

politics
Elisabeth didn't care a lot about politics. Only once in her life did she show political interest: She stronly stood up for Hungary which wanted to be independent. During her reign, the Habsburg Empire was devided inte two parts and the Dual-Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was born.
1868: Sisi was crowned Queen of Hungary. The Hungarians gave her Castle Goedoelloe as gift, where she loved to stay very often. Her 4th child was born in Hungary and spoke Hungarian from the very beginning.

her death
Sept. 10 1898 at the Lake Geneva: She was assassinated by Luigi Lucheni, who plunged a self-sharpened file into her heart. First nobody recognized her injury and everybody thought it was only a punch. The Empress stood up and talked to her companion about this incident. They boarded a ship and then Elisabeth collapsed. She was brought back to her hotel where she died.


"It is so sad here on the earth, and I am convinced and I can't imagine, no matter how hard it may be to die, that anybody would like to come back, even if it would be possible."