Ruqayyah Snyder
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was born on 24 December 1837 in Munich, Germany. She was nicknamed Sisi or Sissi and was known for her iconic hairstyle and fashion sense, as well as her love of sports and physical activity. Sisi had a happy and privileged childhood, but her life took a turn when she was married off to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in 1854 at the age of 16. She had a strained relationship with her husband and often clashed with her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie. Sisi suffered from depression and isolation, and she found the strict court life in Vienna burdensome. She sought comfort in writing poetry and travelling, and she was fascinated with meeting the common people and learning about new cultures. Unfortunately, Empress Elisabeth's life ended in tragedy when she was assassinated in 1898 while travelling in Geneva, Switzerland.
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What You'll Learn
Empress Elisabeth of Austria's life and death
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria on 24 December 1837. She was the daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, the half-sister of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Sisi enjoyed an informal and happy upbringing, with her hands-on parents encouraging her to explore the countryside and enjoy creative pursuits. She also developed a love of horses and sports at an early age, interests she would continue throughout her life.
In August 1853, at the age of 15, Sisi met her first cousin, 23-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. He quickly fell in love with her, and they were married on 24 April 1854, when Sisi was just 16. This union thrust her into the much more formal Habsburg court life, for which she was unprepared and found suffocating. She began to clash with her domineering mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophia, who was also her maternal aunt. Sisi found palace life dull and restrictive, and she was unhappy in her marriage. She and Franz Joseph had four children together: Sophie, Gisela, Rudolf, and Marie Valerie, but their relationship was strained.
Despite her unhappiness, Sisi became an iconic figure in Austria and around the world. She was known for her beauty, and her dedication to fitness and demanding beauty routines became legendary. Her unique style of dress and iconic hairstyle were imitated by women in Austria and beyond. Sisi was also a free spirit who defied the expectations of royal life by taking up smoking, riding, and gymnastics. She also travelled widely, often without her family, and visited places that were considered unusual for European royals at the time, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.
However, tragedy struck Sisi's life on several occasions. In addition to her strained marriage and difficult relationship with her mother-in-law, she suffered the loss of her infant daughter, Sophie, and later, in 1889, the death of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, in a murder-suicide with his mistress, Mary Vetsera. This was a blow from which Sisi never fully recovered, and she sank further into melancholy and depression.
In 1898, while travelling in Geneva, Switzerland, Sisi was assassinated. An Italian anarchist, Luigi Luccheni, stabbed her in the heart with a sharpened file. Her final words were, "What actually happened?". She died at the age of 60, bringing her unsettled life to a tragic end.
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Her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was married to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Their marriage took place on the 24th of April 1854, when Sisi was just 16 years old.
The marriage was arranged by Franz Joseph's domineering mother, Archduchess Sophie, who was also Sisi's maternal aunt. Sophie had invited Sisi's mother, Duchess Ludovika, and her eldest daughter, Duchess Helene, to Bad Ischl, intending for Helene to marry the emperor. However, upon meeting the lively 15-year-old Sisi, Franz Joseph fell in love with her instead. Just two days after their first meeting, he asked Elisabeth to marry him.
Their marriage was not a happy one. Although Franz Joseph was infatuated with his wife, his affection was rarely returned. The couple had different personalities and viewpoints, with Sisi clashing with her mother-in-law, who was traditional and placed a strong emphasis on protocol and etiquette. Sisi, on the other hand, disliked the strict rules and expectations of royal life. Despite their differences, a sort of friendship developed over time, as Elisabeth spent increasing periods away from her husband and the court, pursuing her interests in sports, fashion, and travel.
Together, the couple had four children: Sophie, Gisela, Rudolf, and Marie Valerie. The birth of their son, Crown Prince Rudolf, improved Elisabeth's standing at court, but she suffered from poor health due to the strain. In 1889, Elisabeth's life was devastated by the death of Rudolf, who was found dead with his young lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera, in what was suspected to be a murder-suicide. Elisabeth never recovered from this tragedy and sank further into melancholy.
In 1898, while travelling in Geneva, Elisabeth was fatally stabbed in the heart by an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni. Her death brought immense grief to Franz Joseph, who never fully recovered from the loss.
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Her iconic fashion sense and hairstyle
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sisi, was widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful women of 19th-century Europe. She was known for her rigorous exercise regimen and demanding beauty routines. Sisi's most recognizable attribute was her thick, chestnut hair, which grew all the way down to her feet. She considered her hair her "crowning glory" and was proud of nothing so much as the cascade that enveloped her like a cloak when it was loose. Her daily hairstyling sessions were so important to her that she used the time it took to wash, dry, and style her hair to read, write letters, and study Greek and Hungarian with her tutors.
Sisi's hairdresser, Franziska Feifalik, a former stage hairdresser at the Wiener Burgtheater, was responsible for all of the Empress's ornate hairstyles and usually accompanied her on her travels. Feifalik was forbidden to wear rings and was required to wear white gloves. After hours of dressing, braiding, and pinning up the Empress's tresses, the hairs that fell out had to be presented in a silver bowl to the reproachful Empress for inspection. Sisi's hair was so long and heavy that she often complained of headaches caused by the weight of her elaborate double braids and pins. To alleviate the pressure, she would sometimes tie her hair up with ribbons or wear it loose.
Sisi's iconic hairstyle was widely imitated by women in Austria and around the world. She was also known for her fashion sense and often wore dresses with high necklines and full skirts, avoiding flashy or ostentatious attire. She favoured simple, elegant clothing and jewellery, and her fashion choices were noted and discussed in the press of the time. Sisi was also ahead of the fashion curve, abandoning the cage-crinoline hoop skirt for a tighter and leaner silhouette as soon as it went out of style. She often shopped at the Budapest fashion house, Antal Alter (now Alter és Kiss), which was very popular with the fashion-crazed crowd.
In 1865, Franz Xaver Winterhalter painted a portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria wearing a white satin evening dress covered with thousands of silver foil stars shimmering under a layer of tulle. The dress, designed by Worth, the most renowned dressmaker of the latter half of the 19th century, followed the fashionable trends of the era while also incorporating unique touches befitting her status as Empress. The portrait inspired a recent Chanel fashion show, in which creative director Karl Lagerfeld directed a short film featuring Cara Delevingne as Empress Elisabeth.
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![Sisi - Staffeln 1 bis 3 Gesamtedition (Filmjuwelen) [6 DVDs]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81VYM0a7e-L._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Her mental health and depression
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, suffered from depression and mental illness throughout her life. Sisi was extremely introverted and hated the responsibilities and public attention that came with being empress. She found the strict court life in Vienna a burden and was often isolated in the palace, which she likened to a "prison fortress".
Sisi's unhappiness began with her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. She was just 16 when she married her first cousin, and the union was not a happy one. Sisi was unprepared for the formalities and strict rules of the Habsburg court and frequently clashed with her overbearing mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie. The two had very different personalities, with Archduchess Sophie being traditional and placing a strong emphasis on protocol and etiquette, while Sisi longed for the freedom she had enjoyed during her childhood.
Before her marriage, Sisi had been in mourning for a young count she had loved, and she had fallen into a lengthy depression. Her mother, Princess Ludovika, hoped that the change of scenery and the prospect of marriage would cheer her up. However, Sisi's unhappiness only increased after her wedding. She was seen sobbing from her carriage as she passed through the excited crowds on her way to her new home in the Hofburg imperial palace. Once inside the palace gates, the death of her infant daughter, Sophie, only added to her emotional pain.
Sisi's mental health continued to suffer as she endured further tragedies, including the loss of her only son, Rudolf, in 1889. She never recovered from this tragedy and sank further into melancholy. Within ten years, she had also lost her father, her older sister, her mother, and her younger sister. Sisi's response to these losses was to withdraw from court duties and travel widely, often alone. She found refuge in places like the palace Achilleion on the Greek island of Corfu, which she had built in 1890, and the Hermes Villa in Vienna, built by her husband to encourage her to stay in the city.
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Her tragic life and legacy
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, nicknamed Sisi, lived a tragic life marked by the loss of her loved ones, an unhappy marriage, and mental health struggles, ultimately ending in her assassination.
Sisi was born on 24 December 1837 in Munich, Germany, into the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. She enjoyed a happy and privileged childhood, riding horses and climbing mountains in the Bavarian forests with her seven brothers and sisters. Sisi's upbringing was informal, and she inherited her father's eccentricities and progressive beliefs, along with her mother's love of privacy. However, her life took a turn when she was married off at the age of 16 to her first cousin, the 23-year-old Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, in April 1854. This union between two families was motivated by power rather than love. Sisi found herself thrust into the strict and formal Habsburg court life, which she detested and struggled to adapt to. She clashed with her domineering mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, and suffered the loss of her infant daughter, Sophie, soon after her marriage.
Despite having four children together—Sophie, Gisela, Rudolf, and Marie Valerie—Sisi's relationship with Emperor Franz Joseph was strained and unhappy. She found solace in her love of sports, horseback riding, and physical activities, as well as writing poetry and reading. Sisi's commitment to her fitness routine was legendary, and she even had a portable gym installed on one of her yachts. She also took up smoking, riding, and gymnastics as acts of defiance during her marriage, making her the subject of gossip.
In 1889, Sisi's life was shattered by the death of her only son, Rudolf, in a suspected murder-suicide. This tragedy was followed by a series of losses within her family, including her father, mother, and two sisters. Sisi never fully recovered from her son's death and sank further into melancholy. She withdrew from court duties and travelled extensively, often alone, in search of peace. She built the palace Achilleion on the Greek island of Corfu as a refuge and frequently escaped to Hungary to recover from her grief.
Sisi's tragic life ended with her assassination on 10 September 1898 in Geneva, Switzerland. An Italian anarchist, Luigi Lucheni, fatally stabbed her in the heart with a sharpened file. Sisi's death was as unusual as her life, as she collapsed on board a steamship only after apologising to passers-by for the scuffle with her assassin, unaware of her fatal injury. Her legacy as a free-spirited, iconic figure continues to captivate imaginations, with her story being retold in movies and books.
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Frequently asked questions
Sisi of Austria, also known as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, was born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria on 24 December 1837. She was married to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.
Sisi had a happy and privileged childhood. She enjoyed riding horses and climbing mountains. She was also well-read and wrote poetry. However, her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I was unhappy and she often clashed with her mother-in-law. She suffered from depression and found court life suffocating. She travelled widely and was obsessed with maintaining her youthful figure and beauty.
Yes, Sisi had four children: Sophie, Gisela, Rudolf, and Marie Valerie. Her son Rudolf died by suicide in 1889, which caused her great grief.
Sisi was assassinated in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1898. She was stabbed in the heart with a needle file by an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni.
Sisi of Austria is famous for being the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She is also known for her beauty, style, and athletic prowess. She was considered a fairy-tale princess and captured the public's imagination.
