Empress Elisabeth Of Austria: A Suicide Mystery

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was assassinated by Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni in 1898. She was stabbed in the chest with a self-made weapon composed of a small, sharp file. However, there is evidence to suggest that Sisi's death was not solely a result of the assassination. Sisi had a history of mental illness, depression, and anorexia, and had previously expressed a desire for death. She had also lost her son, Crown Prince Rudolf, to a murder-suicide pact, after which she fell into a deep decline. Thus, while Sisi did not kill herself, her tragic life and untimely death at the hands of an assassin have captured the imagination of people for over a century.

Empress Elisabeth's assassin, Luigi Lucheni, was an Italian anarchist

On 10 September 1898, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was assassinated by Luigi Lucheni, an Italian anarchist.

Luigi Lucheni was born in Paris on 22 April 1873. His mother, Luigia Lucchini, left him at a foundling hospital as a baby. The child was moved to Italy in August 1874 and spent his early life in orphanages and foster families. Lucheni worked odd jobs in Italy, Switzerland, and Austria-Hungary. He served in the Italian military for three years and moved to Switzerland, where he befriended anarchists in Lausanne.

Lucheni was an impoverished man who held a deep rage against the upper nobility. He considered all members of royal families to be "odious parasites" and believed that the poor, working-class people loved him. He wanted to see the death of the rich and believed that "whoever doesn't work, doesn't deserve to live". He had a particular resentment for the Habsburg aristocracy and wanted to be recognised as a political martyr.

Lucheni had planned to assassinate Prince Henri Philippe of Orléans in Geneva but lost track of the Prince's movements. He then read in the newspaper that Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary was also in Geneva. He decided to kill the Empress instead. As she was walking from the Hotel Beau-Rivage towards the landing stage, Lucheni rushed up to her and stabbed her with a pointed, dirty file. The Empress continued walking, thinking she had been punched, and boarded a steamship. However, she soon collapsed and died of internal bleeding.

Lucheni was apprehended while fleeing the scene, and his weapon was found the next day. He confessed immediately and was incarcerated for life. He was furious to find that capital punishment had been abolished in Geneva and requested to be tried in another canton where he could be martyred. He hanged himself in his cell on 19 October 1910, 12 years after his sentencing.

She was stabbed with a self-made weapon

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was stabbed with a self-made weapon by Luigi Lucheni, an Italian anarchist, on 10 September 1898. The weapon was composed of a small, sharp file, which was inserted into a wooden handle.

Lucheni, who was filled with rage for the upper nobility, had initially planned to assassinate Prince Henri of Orléans in Geneva. However, upon learning that the prince had cancelled his trip, he changed his target to the Empress. As she was walking towards the steamship "Genève", Lucheni rushed up to her and stabbed her in the chest with his makeshift weapon, before quickly fleeing the scene.

The Empress and her lady-in-waiting, Countess Irma Sztáray, did not immediately realise what had happened, attributing the attack to a robbery attempt. They continued to board the ship, but only a few minutes later, Elisabeth lost consciousness and died from internal bleeding.

The assassination of Empress Elisabeth shocked the public, especially in Austria and Hungary, and was widely covered in the press. Her assassin, Lucheni, was caught and confessed immediately. He was brought to trial and sentenced to life in prison, where he eventually hanged himself.

She died of internal bleeding

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was assassinated by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Lucheni, in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 10, 1898. She was sixty years old.

Lucheni had initially planned to assassinate Prince Henri Philippe of Orléans but changed his target when he learned from the newspaper that the Empress was in Geneva. He was motivated by his hatred of the nobility, and his desire to see the death of the rich.

On the day of the assassination, the Empress had spent the night incognito at the Hotel Beau-Rivage and was walking to the steamship "Genève" with her lady-in-waiting, Countess Irma Sztáray, when Lucheni rushed towards them and stabbed Elisabeth with a self-made weapon—a small, sharp, triangular file. The weapon penetrated her chest, piercing her heart, and causing internal bleeding.

At first, neither Elisabeth nor Countess Irma realised what had happened. The Empress thought she had been punched and continued to board the ship. However, she soon lost consciousness and died within a couple of hours. When Countess Irma noticed a small stab wound above her left breast and undid the Empress's bodice, she saw a bloodstain on her chemise and realised that Elisabeth had been stabbed. Doctors were called, but they were unable to save her.

Elisabeth's friend, the poetess Carmen Sylva, Queen of Romania, reflected on the Empress's death, saying:

> "For the empress, this end was 'beautiful, calm and great within in the sight of beloved, great Nature, painless and peaceful; only to the world did it seem horrific'."

Her youngest daughter, Marie Valerie, also wrote of her mother's death:

> "Now it has happened just as she always wished: quickly, painlessly without medical consultations, without long, anxious days of worry for her loved ones."

She was in Geneva under an assumed name

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was in Geneva under an assumed name in September 1898. Travelling incognito as the Countess of Hohenembs, one of the Habsburg titles, she was on a health cure and had paid a visit to Baroness Rothschild. She stayed at the Hotel Beau-Rivage and went into town with her companion, Countess Irma Sztáray, to visit a pastry shop and buy gifts for her grandchildren. However, an indiscretion alerted newspapers to her presence, and reports of her visit appeared the next day.

Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni had travelled to Geneva with the intention of assassinating a member of the royal family as a protest against the ruling class. His intended victim was Prince Henri Philippe Marie d'Orléans, but when the prince cancelled his visit, Lucheni changed his plans. After reading about Empress Elisabeth's visit in the newspaper, he decided to target her instead. He watched her comings and goings at the hotel and then lay in wait for her and Countess Sztáray at the lake promenade.

As the two women walked towards the landing stage in the afternoon of 10 September, Lucheni rushed up to them and stabbed the empress with a sharpened, triangular file. The blow caused her to fall, but she quickly got up, believing she had been punched. She thanked the people who had rushed to help and then hurried to board the steamship. However, she soon collapsed unconscious on the upper deck. Countess Sztáray noticed a small stab wound above her left breast, and the steamship returned to shore. The empress was carried back to the hotel, where doctors were unable to save her life. She died of internal bleeding.

She was known for her beauty and strict beauty regime

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was renowned for her beauty and strict beauty regime. She was so devoted to her appearance that she spent three hours a day on her hair alone. Her hairdresser, Fanny Feifalik, was paid an annual salary of 2,000 guldens, which was considered extremely high for the time.

Every morning, after a cold bath, massage, light breakfast, and rigorous exercise, Sisi would sit for hours while Fanny brushed, braided, and twisted her hair into elegant splendour. Sisi's Greek tutor Konstantin Christomanos described the ritual as a "sacred ritual", and it was so important to her that she refused to attend official functions if Fanny was unavailable.

Sisi's hair was washed every three weeks with raw eggs and brandy, a process that took an entire day, including drying time. After washing her hair, she would don a long, waterproof silk dressing gown and walk until it dried. The weight of her hair was sometimes too much for her, and she suffered from headaches, which she treated by tying her hair up with ribbons to relieve the pressure.

In addition to her hair care, Sisi also had a strict skincare regimen. Obsessed with preventing wrinkles and other signs of ageing, she applied crushed strawberries to her hands, neck, and face, and slept in a mask lined with raw veal. She also soaked in warm olive oil baths and used distilled water for everyday bathing.

Sisi was equally fanatical about maintaining a slim figure. She wrapped herself in damp cloths above the hips to reduce inches and often ate a minimal breakfast, with some evening meals consisting of little more than thin gravy. She also followed extreme diets, sometimes eating only eggs, oranges, and raw milk for weeks on end.

To offset her meagre diet, Sisi engaged in vast quantities of rigorous exercise. She rode horses, fenced, went on fast-paced hikes, and performed circus-style exercises. She had an exercise room in every palace, where she lifted dumbbells and trained on rings.

Sisi's devotion to her beauty and fitness routines was so strong that it took over her life. She was royalty, a beauty, and a tragic figure whose extreme diet, exercise, and beauty rituals consumed her.

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