On September 10, 1898 was murdered Princess Sissythe introverted empress of Austria and queen of Hungary, who moved the arts with her beauty, while with her tragic life she won the sympathy of the people.

Elisabeth of Austria, known by the diminutive Sissy, was born on December 24, 1837 and was a member of the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. As the fourth child of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria and Ludovica of Bavaria, one would expect her aristocratic lineage to be reflected in her mannerisms.

However, despite her aristocratic origin, her upbringing was so liberal and unruly, that she did not fit a girl of her class and everyone was talking about an..unusual princess. When she married in 1854, at the age of 16, to Franz Joseph I of Austria, came the first big shock for the young princess.

Princess Sissy and Emperor Francis Joseph I

He had to behave according to the strict protocols of the Habsburg court and live by following certain rules and orders. For a young lady who had learned to live freely this was indeed a very difficult undertaking. Sissi, however, was not destined from the beginning to become the empress of Austria.

Her cruel and completely authoritarian mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophia of Austria, intended for her son her older sister, Helen. But when Francis saw the beautiful Elizabeth, he announced that he would either marry her or no one. So the plans changed and Elizabeth, only 16 years old, found herself sitting on a throne and having to operate according to strict rules, which until then she had never heard of before.

Her introversion it was the feature that saved her from this difficult situation. He did not challenge anyone and always tried to comply with the new data and rules. Despite her frantic efforts, however, Archduchess Sophia did not seem to like her very much. He criticized her strongly and put various obstacles in her way, culminating in removing her from her own children.

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Georg Martin Ignats Raab

Empress Elisabeth of Austria,

Sophia judged Sissy to be immature and grossly unfit to raise her daughter, who was born just ten months after the wedding. So, immediately after the birth, he removed her from her side, took over her upbringing and even chose the name, giving her own, namely Sophia. The same happened with her second daughter, Gisela. Her inability to produce an heir to the throne had put her in a difficult position in the palace. Everyone considered her incompetent and inferior and had her on the sidelines. She herself was on the verge of depression and always in personal isolation.

In 1857 she decided to take a trip with her two daughters to Hungary. It was her attempt to escape the difficult situation in which her marriage had fallen and her domineering mother-in-law. The moments she spent – ​​finally – with her daughters were priceless, but they were quickly overshadowed by the typhoid that struck the family. Her first-born daughter Sophia could not stand the disease and breathed her last soon. Sissy, now severely depressed, withdrew from everyone and chose to keep an even greater distance from Gisela.

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