{"id":16938,"date":"2019-06-30T04:41:25","date_gmt":"2019-06-30T03:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=16938"},"modified":"2025-06-10T09:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T08:42:15","slug":"elisabeth-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/elisabeth-memorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Empress Elisabeth memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/elisabeth-small.jpg\" alt=\"Sisi statue\" class=\"wp-image-16941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/elisabeth-small.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/elisabeth-small-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Even Emperors feel grief. Like Franz Joseph at the loss of his beloved Empress Elisabeth in 1898. The Sisi memorial dedicated to her memory fills a tract of the Volksgarten park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Finished in 1907, with water features, a statue, flower beds, and a tree-lined avenue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very central, yet strangely hidden, too<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don&#8217;t miss the nearby rose garden<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a guided <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-attractions-c60335\/tickets-for-skip-the-line-sisi-museum-hofburg-palace-and-gardens-tour-vienna-p1068009\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Sisi\" rel=\"sponsored\">Sisi-themed tour<\/a>* in Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/sisi-museum\/\">Sisi museum<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/empress-elisabeth\/\">Sisi in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sisi statue<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/sisimemorial.jpg\" alt=\"The Sisi memorial\" class=\"wp-image-44873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/sisimemorial.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/sisimemorial-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The building in the background is the Burgtheater: the national theatre)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Habsburg marriages tended to be of the arranged variety, with very few exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The one between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/franz-joseph\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"26307\">Emperor Franz Joseph<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/sisi\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"34621\">Elisabeth<\/a> (&#8220;Sisi&#8221;) was, however, a mix of political expedience and romance. He truly loved her. She may even have loved him in return (but, if so, certainly not to the same extent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite (or perhaps because of) Elisabeth&#8217;s ambivalence toward her husband, her dislike of court responsibilities, and her regular travels away from Vienna, she remains one of the most popular personalities in Habsburg history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her famed beauty, somewhat rebellious nature, and enigmatic character have all contributed to the public&#8217;s continuing fascination with the Empress.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/statueempresselisabeth.jpg\" alt=\"Statue of Empress Elisabeth\" class=\"wp-image-44874\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/statueempresselisabeth.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/statueempresselisabeth-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The marble statue by Hans Bitterlich)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No wonder, then, that Elisabeth has an appropriate memorial statue and garden to her name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Work began on this Sisi memorial in 1904, around six years after her assassination in Geneva and following an exhaustive tender process involving dozens of competitive ideas and locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Curiously, Vienna began planning for a memorial after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/mapsgeography\/salzburg\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12693\">Salzburg<\/a> had already unveiled one, which you can see today on the southern edge of the square outside that city&#8217;s main railway station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Completed in 1907 and officially unveiled on June 4th, the Vienna memorial fills a tract of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/volksgarten\/\">Volksgarten park<\/a> right in the heart of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/elisabethmemorial1907.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of the unveiling in 1907 of the Empress Elisabeth memorial\" class=\"wp-image-63904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/elisabethmemorial1907.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/elisabethmemorial1907-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Unveiling of the memorial, photographed and published by the Verlag resp. k. u. k. Universit\u00e4tsbuchhandlung R. Lechner (Wilh. M\u00fcller); Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 239346\/16; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>Kronen Zeitung<\/em> newspaper (still going strong today) dedicated its first four pages to the unveiling, with the cover showing a picture of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth&#8217;s sister, Maria Sophie, at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Architect Friedrich Ohmann designed the surrounding area with the statue itself sculpted by Hans Bitterlich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might come across Ohmann&#8217;s work elsewhere. For example, his hands are behind the palm house at the edge of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/burggarten\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2746\">Burggarten<\/a> and the Zollamtssteg bridge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/before-sunrise-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"36997\">familiar<\/a> to fans of the movie <em>Before Sunrise<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You find busts and reliefs by Bitterlich throughout the centre, and he also produced another notable memorial in Vienna: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/gutenberg-monument\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"33777\">Gutenberg monument<\/a> close to Stephansdom cathedral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-slug-ids=\"pro1068009,pro1007575\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_Hofburg\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Empress sits in white marble, hands resting in her lap, the statue marked by a simple inscription that reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Elisabeth. Kaiserin von \u00d6sterreich<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The inscription translates as <em>Elisabeth. Empress of Austria<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In front of the Empress&#8230;a pond and fountains, then stone vases of flowers and a lawn that stretches down a narrow tree-lined avenue past more sculpted flower beds and topiary until you reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/heldenplatz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2748\">Heldenplatz square<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flowerbedselisabethmemorial.jpg\" alt=\"Flower beds at the Elisabeth memorial\" class=\"wp-image-44872\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flowerbedselisabethmemorial.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/flowerbedselisabethmemorial-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The tower beyond the hedge is the Rathaus: Vienna&#8217;s city hall)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everything has a turn-of-the-century feel with a touch of Greece (perhaps a nod to Elisabeth&#8217;s love of that region). Sisi would have liked it, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although surrounded by imperial landmarks and not far from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/kaiserappartements\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2658\">royal apartments<\/a>, the memorial tract manages to remain a remarkably secretive and tranquil location. The kind of escape from Habsburg grandeur that Elisabeth sought for much of her life as an empress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be honest, I must have walked past it a hundred times without realising it was there.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/museumviewvolksgarten.jpg\" alt=\"Museum view from the Volksgarten\" class=\"wp-image-41931\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/museumviewvolksgarten.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/museumviewvolksgarten-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Dozens of different varieties line the rose garden)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you visit, be sure to explore more of the Volksgarten, particularly the rose garden: in summer, the roses form a glorious pageant of different colours; in winter, a strange landscape filled with tall stems, their tops encased in sacks of cloth as if handcuffed and marching to a secret rebel hideout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to find the Sisi memorial<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the directions for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/volksgarten\/\">Volksgarten<\/a> and the Rose Garden: leave the latter by the side furthest from the Ring boulevard. Then cross over to the other side of the large <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/winter-palace\/theseus-temple\/\">Theseus temple<\/a> (see the map below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Volksgarten, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1asmHlbVpicbQLt1557vf6l4l0zQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even Emperors feel grief. Like Franz Joseph at the loss of his beloved Empress Elisabeth in 1898. The Sisi memorial dedicated to her memory fills a tract of the Volksgarten park. The Sisi statue (The building in the background is the Burgtheater: the national theatre) Habsburg marriages tended to be of the arranged variety, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-winter-palace","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16938"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84032,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16938\/revisions\/84032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}