The exhibition's most important piece is a full-body jade armor used in the burial of emperors.Continue reading
In September, the Royal Palace of Gödöllő, near Budapest, will host a temporary exhibition entitled Sisi on Tour, presenting Empress Elisabeth’s personal belongings, organized jointly by the Royal Palace of Gödöllő and the Schönbrunn Group.
Elisabeth is one of the most interesting figures in 19th century European history. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of her death, visitors can learn about the life of the empress through objects used by her and her immediate family members.
She established a deep kinship with Hungary and helped to create the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy in 1867. As a coronation gift, Hungary presented the royal couple with a country residence in Gödöllő, where Elisabeth spent much of her time in the years to follow.
In 1898, during a trip to Geneva, an Italian anarchist named Luigi Lucheni stabbed Elisabeth through the heart. Her 44-year reign was the longest of any Austrian empress.
After the opening of the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg in Vienna in 2004, the Schönbrunn Group’s strategy was to expand the section of the collection bearing the name of Empress Elisabeth.
Today, this collection comprises more than 1,000 pieces and is the largest Sisi collection in the world.
The Viennese experts have put together a traveling exhibition of the most interesting pieces, with Gödöllő as the first stop. The exhibition will include around 200 objects from the collection.
Among the items on display will be the silk dress and bonnet worn by Elisabeth at her christening, the gold-plated container with the Emperor’s imperial motto, and the Hungarian crown, bearing the soil of the coronation hill of June 8, 1867, and a pendant, also made of gold, containing a photograph of her daughter Gizella and her son Rudolf.
Sisi’s special black parasol will be exhibited with several portraits of members of the imperial family, numerous documents, porcelain, and textiles such as the Queen’s gymnastic trousers, Prince Rudolf’s hunting vest, as well as a number of engravings and prints.
The exhibition, open from September 8 to January 28, is curated by Michael Wohlfart, Queen Elisabeth expert at the Sisi Museum in Vienna.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Gödöllői Királyi Kastély – Royal Palace of Godollo