Empress Elizabeth – Sisi (1837-1898) – curriculum vitae
Empress Elizabeth was from the eccentric Wittelsbach dynasty, to which he belonged, among others. "insane” Louis II of Bavaria, cousin fog. Elizabeth was brought up carelessly, in greenhouse conditions. Already at age 16 years she got engaged to a cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Habsburg dynasty. The engagement was preceded by only two days of public endeavor. Francis chose Elizabeth, against the will of his mother, Archduchess Sophia, who saw the older sister by his side, Helena. In this way, from the very first moment, Elizabeth had a fierce enemy in the person of her mother-in-law. Zofia soon launched a counterattack, not allowing the daughter-in-law to fulfill her assigned roles, both the empress, and mothers. She carefully selected the court ladies, and she picked up children immediately after birth. No wonder then, that years later Elżbieta gave her daughter such advice: “The institution of marriage is absurd. At the age of 15 years you are sold, you take an oath, which you do not understand yourself, and then by 30 years or more you regret it, that you can't break it”.
Before the year came 1860, Elizabeth did her duty, giving birth to a male heir, and then she actually stopped living together with her husband. She herself found her husband a lover, introducing him to Katarzyna Schratt.
The reason for the sudden trip to Madeira was most likely a fact, that Franz Józef infected her with a venereal disease. She looked for solace in horse riding, she was considered one of the best amazons in Europe. She spent a lot of time traveling across the continent, hiding under the pseudonym of Countess Hohenhelms. She tried to forget about loneliness, and about her life she spoke like this: “When you can't be happy that way, as you wish, there is nothing left but to love your sorrows”.
Sisi's marriage to Franciszek Józef was proclaimed the wedding of the century. The ruler married an undefiled princess from a fairy tale, which he hardly knew. From the beginning, apart from public speaking, nothing happened between the spouses. Sometimes it is considered, that Franz Josef was a gruff tangle without imagination, who was already visiting brothels during the honeymoon. Others persist, that it was Elizabeth who was cold and neurotic, about narcissistic tendencies, obsessed with the mania to control her own appearance. Elizabeth (popularly known as Sisi) quickly won the hearts of the people thanks to her beauty. Despite this, many Viennese were indignant at the constant absence of the empress from the capital.
In years 70. XIX w. Elizabeth, upon learning of his cousin's worsening mental illness, King Louis, she set out in search of the potion, that would cure him of madness. When Ludwik, and shortly thereafter her son Rudolph, they committed suicide one by one, Elizabeth was convinced of this, that she herself is mentally disturbed. From then on, she only wore black, she always carried a black fan, behind which she hid the wrinkles appearing on her face. She traveled around Europe, nowhere to stay warm for longer, she often set off on endless cruises. She even recommended, to have an anchor tattooed on her arm. My traveling companions were deeply concerned, when Elizabeth asked to be tied to the mast during storms.
Before 1897 r. her health was seriously impaired, to which anorexia contributed. She even had difficulty walking. Despite poor health and obsession with mental illness and death, hardly anyone could expect such a tragic end to her life. September 10th 1898 r. the empress was stabbed to death on Lake Geneva by an Italian anarchist, Luigi Luccheniego. The local newspaper is partly to blame for this, who inadvertently reported the arrival of the empress, wanting to remain incognito. When Elizabeth boarded the ship, going for tea with Baroness Rothschild, Luccheni ran up to her and stabbed her in the heart with a dagger. The killer traveled around Europe looking for some formidable personality, he could kill. He wanted to assassinate the Duke of Orleans, who, however, changed his plans and did not come to Geneva. Then Luccheni decided to kill the Empress of Austria. Nothing unusual, that thousands of people showed up at the funeral in Vienna. Even though not everyone loved the empress, after all, no one wished her such a tragic end. The dramatic circumstances of death have made, that after many years, Sisi's life still remains shrouded in legend and a haze of mystery.