The enormous Hofburg complex served as principle residence of the Habsburg
emperors from 1547 to 1918. Its history goes back even further – it was first
mentioned in 1275 when its directly translated name "court fortress" still
placed the emphasis on fortress. Its present 18 wings and 19 courtyards combine
all architectural styles from Gothic to Historicism into a palace complex of
2,600 rooms covering 240,000 m².
The Hofburg complex houses around ten museums, including the very impressive
Treasury, the offices of the Austrian president and several other state
departments. However, visiting the Hofburg generally implies the three
attractions accessible on the €8.90 Hofburg admission ticket: the Silberkammer
(Silver Depot), the Sisi Museum, and the imperial state apartments of Emperor
Franz Joseph. The other attractions such as the Spanish Riding School, the
Treasury, and the Albertina are generally referred to by their individual
names. The apartments of
Maria Theresa are used by the Austrian president – admission is free but by
non-solicited invitation only!
The Silberkammer displays the huge and very impressive collection of
table silver, table gold, and porcelain that belonged to the Habsburgs.
Highlights include an over 30-m long gilded bronze centerpiece that was made in
Milan around 1800 and a Sèvres dinner service given by King Louis XV of France
to
Maria Theresa. The silver and gold dazzled and the porcelain impressed but
after a few minutes, we got bored by all the cutlery and spent more effort
trying to find the exit from the labyrinth than concentrating on the various
items on display.
The Sisi Museum presents a refreshingly honest display of the life
Empress Elizabeth, better known as Sisi. Elizabeth was a princess in
Bavaria and cousin of both Emperor Franz Joseph and Bavaria’s Mad King Ludwig of
castle-building fame. Her mother and the mother of Franz Joseph were sisters and
a plan was hatched to betroth Sisi’s elder sister Helene and young Emperor Franz
Joseph. Helene was eminently suitable for the role as empress – right character,
suitable demeanor, and that sort of thing. However, Emperor Franz Joseph fell in
love with her younger sister, Elizabeth, and the two were duly wed in 1854.
Although Sisi was slightly better looking than her older sister, she had neither
the character nor the interest to play the role of empress. She soon got bored
with the pomp and circumstance of the imperial court, had arguments with her
mother-in-law, and became obsessed with her figure and looks. She became
estranged from her husband and increasingly traveled away from Vienna on her
own. During one of these trips to Geneva, she was murdered by an anarchist.
Following her death, the Habsburgs realized the propaganda value of Sisi.
Although she was not particularly popular during her time in Vienna, she was now
a martyr and the state controlled media began to build a personality cult.
For the continuous popularity of Sisi, more than a century after her death,
blame Austrian actress Romy Scneider. She brilliantly portrait Sisi in three
1950s movies leaving most of the German-speaking world with the impression that
Sisi was a sympathetic and misunderstood person, oppressed and in search of
freedom. Despite the questionable interpretation of history, these movies are
quite well done and can still be seen at least annually on most provincial
German TV channels.
The Sisi Museum debunks some of the Sisi myths and portrays an historical
more accurate version of her life. Items associated with Sisi’s life including
dresses and jewelry are on display. She allowed no portraits or photographs of
herself to be taken after her early 40s to ensure that she lives on as a
beautiful, young empress in the public mind. Her rare appearances in public
aided the preservation of this image. She lived during Europe’s belle époque, in
German also known as the Gründerzeit, when things were done on a grand
scale – as is usually the case, it was a good time to be rich.
The tour of the Imperial State Apartments includes both the rooms used
by Emperor Franz Joseph as well as those of Sisi after their estrangement. The
staterooms are appropriately grand and kept as it was in the last years of the
empire. Franz Joseph’s bedroom is modestly furnished for an emperor but then
many would say he had a lot to be modest about. As in
Schloss Schönbrunn, he had a simple iron bed. He was an admirably hard
worker though and spent little time in bed – waking before 5 am after retiring
often after midnight.
A small room is dedicated to the memory of Franz Joseph’s brother, the
ill-fated
Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. More interesting than the displays in this
room is the bell at the door – Franz Joseph had to ring it order to gain
admission to the apartments of his wife. Her red and white decorated apartment
included gym equipment used to maintain her figure. It also has the first
bathroom installed in the palace.
One of the last rooms on the tour is the dinning room with table laid out as
it was for family dinners in the time of Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph apparently
never exceeded 45 minutes at the table but still managed to guide his guests in
that time through 9 to 13 courses (excluding coffee and liqueurs, which were
served afterwards in an adjacent room). Plates for each course were cleared as
soon as the emperor put his fork down and although he was said to have had
impeccable table manners, it probably was a good idea to keep up or risk going
hungry.
Opening hours are daily from 9 am to 5 pm.