Two years before the onset of the 20th century, respectable and quite prosperous Europe shuddered from an unheard-of atrocity committed in its quietest and most peaceful corner. The edge of a file cut mercilessly into the heart of a woman walking calmly on the shores of Lake Geneva on a September morning in 1898. Whose evil will guided the killer's hand is unknown, but by a strange irony of fate, the most beautiful woman in Europe, the Austrian Empress Elizabeth I, became his victim.
It is well known that dynastic marriages of the august persons were usually concluded according to the principle of state expediency, while cordial affections were not taken into account. The marriage of the young Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I was an exception to this rule, although at first his official bride was completely different. He was determined to marry her younger sister.
Coat of arms of Elizabeth - Princess of Bavaria.
“Either she - or no one!” - he categorically declared to his mother. It was then that Archduchess Sophia had to realize for the first time that her power over her son was not omnipotent. There was nothing to do. The Austrian throne urgently needed a strong family union, and most importantly, heirs. Did Sophia like his chosen one? The main argument against her was her 15 years. Less significant, but no less alarming, was the fact that she, adoring horses, literally did not get out of the stables, wrote rhymes, and, moreover, was too spontaneous. Although, on the other hand, Sofia understood well that everything that was needed could be molded from such a soft wax. And this thought soothed her.
… The Wittelsbach family ruled in Bavaria (today part of Germany) for more than seven centuries. In 1828, the Bavarian Duke Maximilian entered into a legal marriage and, although he was concluded without any special feelings, he gave numerous offspring. In 1834, the first daughter Helena was born in the family, and 3 years later, on Christmas itself, the second, named Elizabeth.
Promotional video:
This baby, who became a Christmas gift from the Almighty, was born on Sunday, which, according to legend, was a guarantee of a happy fate, moreover, she had a tiny tooth. According to legend, the same thing happened with the newborn Napoleon Bonaparte, and therefore there was more than enough reason to believe that something special awaited the princess in life.
Eight children - all the young growth of the ducal family - were not brought up in the traditions of other sovereign houses. Father, Duke Max (that was the name of his family), a cheerful and sociable man, loved to take his family out for the whole summer to the Possenhofen estate, located on a picturesque lake surrounded by wooded hills. There children found themselves in a completely different world. Elizabeth considered this wonderful place to be her homeland.
Here she easily entered the peasant houses, where she was well known and loved, without fear she took any living creatures in her hands, and even begged her father to arrange a small menagerie next to their house. And once her father showed Elizabeth how to draw, and soon no one was surprised if the princess went far into the meadows to draw flowers and clouds floating over her little paradise.
Elizabeth was extremely impressionable and very affectionate, which made her the favorite of everyone around her, whoever they were. All this was fine, but her mother, the Duchess of Louis, looking at her 12-year-old daughter, thought about how difficult it would be to marry this girl, because, alas, she is not a beauty. Her round face was more like the faces of the daughters of a woodcutter or a baker. But these domestic problems paled in comparison with those that fell on Ludovica's own sister, the Austrian Archduchess Sophia.
In December 1848, Sofia, by hook or by crook, convinced her husband, Archduke Franz Karl, to give up his rights to the Austrian crown in favor of their son Franz Joseph. The mother well prepared the heir for the role of the sovereign. And although at first it was Sophia who remained the de facto ruler of the empire, she constantly inspired her son that the main purpose of the monarch was to preserve the greatness and unity of the state.
In the same 1848, 18-year-old Franz Joseph became emperor. And soon he was destined to go through an ordeal. In Hungary, humiliated by vassal dependence on Austria, an uprising broke out. His main slogan was the demand for complete freedom. But Sofia did not want to be almond-shaped with the despicable Hungarians - a daring attempt at rebellion was drowned in blood. When this annoying misunderstanding was a little forgotten, Sofia decided that it was time to marry the young emperor.
For her Bavarian sister Ludovica, this circumstance did not come as a surprise. Her eldest daughter Helena was quite a suitable part - both smart and restrained, however, there were some features in her beautiful face that were too tough and energetic for a 20-year-old girl. But, perhaps, for the future empress this was exactly what was needed.
And so on August 15, 1853, burning with impatience to see the promised beautiful bride, Franz Joseph rushed to the small town of Ischl, where the Duchess of Louis was to arrive with her eldest daughter Helena. He did not yet know that on this trip his mother took with her the youngest, Elizabeth. She was then 16 years old - exactly the age when Nature makes amazing metamorphoses with girls. In any case, the mother listened with undisguised surprise to the admiration for Elizabeth. Franz Joseph had not yet had time to see his betrothed, and in every corner of the Ishlinsky mansion, all conversations were conducted only about Elizabeth.
On the day of her arrival, at dinner, she sat opposite Franz Joseph, who could not take his eyes off her. And next to him, Helena was sadly picking at her plate. At the very first ball, in violation of all the rules of etiquette, Franz Joseph, forgetting about his fiancée, twice in a row invited Elizabeth to the cotillion, which was then almost tantamount to an offer of a hand and heart.
… Elizabeth was carried to the wedding like a splinter in a flood. She felt like a participant in some fairy tale, and not at all in real events. Of course, the young handsome emperor could not leave her indifferent. All this was beginning to resemble the love about which she had been composing poems at the age of 10. The raging elements of the upcoming wedding, surpassing everything Vienna had previously seen in luxury, simply shocked her.
The wedding of Franz Joseph I and Elizabeth on April 24, 1854. Lithograph by Vincenz Katzler, 1854.
And then the day of the wedding came. In a carriage painted by the great Rubens, the newlyweds arrived at the church. Elizabeth was wearing a luxurious dress, her magnificent hair was adorned with a diadem donated by her mother-in-law. Trembling in anticipation of the upcoming ceremony, Elizabeth, getting out of the carriage, caught on her door, and the diadem almost fell from her head. "Be patient," the groom whispered, "we will quickly forget this whole nightmare." But only the emperor managed to quickly forget him - right after the wedding, he plunged into work, while Elizabeth had a much more difficult time.
Literally from the first days of her accession to the throne, she felt herself in a mousetrap. But there was no chance for her to change her life, to be an empress is forever, and she knew it.
I woke up in a dungeon
Shackles are on my hands.
Longing takes over me more and more -
And you, freedom, turned away from me!
She wrote this poem 2 weeks after the wedding … Meanwhile, the mother-in-law, with her usual rigidity, began to sculpt her own likeness from her daughter-in-law. She did not want to notice either the peculiarities of Elizabeth's character, or her personal inclinations. Under the yoke of constant admonitions, reprimands and inexplicable harshness in the treatment of her, the young empress, seized by an insult that reached the point of pain, was on the verge of despair.
Palace life and relations between those close to the imperial court seemed to her the clearest manifestation of pretense and hypocrisy. And the most important rule that dominated all this and was formulated to the point of cynicism simply - “to seem, but not to be”, Elizabeth could not follow. She was shy of everyone and everything, did not trust anyone, showing almost undisguised contempt.
She could not say this about her husband, but he was constantly busy! What was left for her?
Not possessing excess tact, the mother-in-law, who had the ability to find her daughter-in-law in any corner, repeatedly witnessed how Elizabeth sat for hours at the cage with parrots and taught them to speak.
When it turned out that she was pregnant, Sofia began to instruct her son, demanding, firstly, to reduce the fervor, and secondly, to convince his wife to mess around with parrots less, because it is not for nothing that they say that children are sometimes born like their favorite pets. mothers. Therefore, it is much more useful for Elizabeth to look either at her husband, or, at worst, at her reflection in the mirror. In a word, her care was almost akin to that of a mother's, and nevertheless, Elizabeth never left the feeling that her mother-in-law was her secret and implacable enemy.
… At the appointed time, the empress gave birth to a daughter. While the woman in labor was coming to her senses, the newborn, without even consulting her mother, was named Sophia and immediately carried away to her mother-in-law's apartment. This almost finished off the unfortunate Elizabeth. Franz Joseph, seeing that his wife's mental strength was at the limit and fearing for her life, decided to take her home.
In his beloved and endlessly dreaming Elizabeth Possenhofen, Franz Joseph simply did not recognize his sad recluse. She was infinitely happy and literally beamed with joy overwhelming her. She did not intend to paint her "happy" life in the palace. “Oh, Helena, be happy,” she said to her sister, “I saved you from a very sad fate and would give everything to change places with you right now.” What about your husband? After all, he has so much nobility, tact, patience and love for her! And the persistent pain with which Elizabeth thought about the daughter taken from her? There was no turning back, but ahead was Vienna again, an inexorable mother-in-law and endless, soul-draining enmity …
Three generations of the imperial house. Franz Josef's parents, Erz Duke Franz Karl and Erz Duchess Sophia of Bavaria, Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elizabeth, their children Princess Gisella (in the arms of their grandmother) and Princess Sophia. Lithography.
In the summer of 1856, Elizabeth gave birth to another girl named Gisela. But she was also taken to her mother-in-law's apartment. And then the rebellious Franz Joseph categorically declared to his mother his extreme dissatisfaction with the interference in his family life and that from now on his daughters would live with their parents. In addition, he demanded from his mother respect for the one he loves with all his heart. For the first time during her marriage, the victory remained with Elizabeth, but this victory was Pyrrhic. Having clearly understood that she was losing her former influence on her son, Sofia generally ceased to hide her hostility to her daughter-in-law. The relationship between them became unbearable …
Only extraordinary events briefly smoothed out open hostility. In 1858, the eldest daughter Sofia died, and in August of the same year this grief was mitigated by the birth of the long-awaited heir named Rudolph …
No matter how bleak the life of the young empress was at the Viennese court, no matter what pressure she felt from her mother-in-law, who still considered herself the mistress of Austria and imposed her understanding of life on both her son and those close to her, Elizabeth with all her might defended the right to her own thoughts, views and deeds.
Contrary to the canons of palace etiquette, she opened the door of the royal apartments for the artistic intelligentsia of Vienna. Artists, poets, actors, people of other creative professions - in a word, all those whose presence here yesterday was simply inconceivable, gradually entered Elizabeth's circle of friends, increasingly pushing away the faceless nobility that was completely uninteresting to her. Although this circumstance did not add to her popularity among the courtiers.
And she also had a chance to take a direct part in solving such a painful problem as relations with a vassal Hungary. The Empress, as it seemed to many, little versed in the laws of big politics, unexpectedly for everyone, showed amazing foresight, diplomatic tact and the political flair that her powerful mother-in-law was deprived of. The harshness that the Archduchess showed towards the Hungarians personified in their eyes all of Austria and put an insurmountable wall of misunderstanding, if not hatred, between the two countries.
… For the first time Elizabeth appeared in Hungary with her husband in 1857, then the imperial couple, for obvious reasons, was greeted here, to put it mildly, cool. But Elizabeth's genuine interest in both history and the current situation in the country, as well as the Hungarians themselves, quickly set them up in a different way.
Moreover, according to rumors, this woman did not get along very well with the Archduchess Sophia, hated in Hungary, who drowned their revolution in blood. Therefore, in the hearts of its inhabitants, a timid hope flickered that in the person of the young empress they would be able to find an intercessor. The Hungarians really wanted to believe that this beauty with a radiant gaze could somehow influence the emperor, and his views on the "Hungarian question" would change.
Empress Elisabeth Wearing a Tiara, Franz Russ. 1863.
With some unknown feeling, Elizabeth caught these thoughts, unmistakably realizing that she was trusted here. All her mental wounds, which constantly reminded of themselves during their stay in Hungary, seemed to heal. This short visit had interesting consequences. Returning to Vienna, Elizabeth began to study the Hungarian language and soon became fluent in it. Her library was replenished with books by Hungarian authors, a native of Hungary appeared in her close circle, who became her first and true friend. Once Elizabeth decided to appear in the theater in the national Hungarian costume, which caused the undisguised displeasure of almost everyone present.
And nevertheless, not paying attention to the rapid decline in her popularity in the capital and not giving up on her failures, she in every possible way led her husband to the idea of settling relations with Hungary on an equal basis. And Franz Joseph, in principle aware of the sad consequences of the policy of the whip, became more and more close to his wife in his views on solving this problem and was increasingly convinced that the granting of Hungary the right to self-determination did not pose any threat to the power of the empire.
As a result, in February 1867, a decree was read out in the Hungarian parliament on the restoration of the country's Constitution, and in the same year, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was created. Elizabeth treated this event as her own triumph, confirming the high position that she had to take by the will of fate.
… Hungary still hasn't forgotten Elizabeth. In the Budapest Museum, dedicated to the memory of the Austrian empress, her personal belongings, photographs, letters are carefully kept. And although there are not so many of these exhibits, they are quite enough to revive the image of this noble woman in the minds of new generations.
Undoubtedly, the Hungarians have special reasons to keep a grateful memory of her, but besides them there were many more people on whom she made an indelible impression. The curious often came to Vienna hoping to see the legendary beauty at least out of the corner of their eye and make sure that the numerous artists who painted her portraits were not guided by a desire to flatter the august person.
These portraits were usually ordered by Franz Joseph, who was constantly under the magic of her charm and beauty, not only physical, but also mental. In the emperor's office, right before his eyes, until the last day of his life, hung a portrait of his beloved woman.
Elizabeth herself, to put it mildly, did not like posing for artists and photographers. But, as a rule, the matter was settled if the image allowed the presence of a favorite horse or dog. In 1868, Elizabeth gave birth to another daughter, Valeria.
Franz Joseph's constant concern was the growing desire of his wife to be in Vienna as little as possible, which was like a prison for her. And he missed her madly. The openness and trust between them was undeniable. This is evidenced by a huge number of tender, affectionate letters in which he tried to calm and reassure her languishing soul.
“My dear angel, I was again left alone with my sorrows and worries, while I again feel how I miss you, I still love you more than anything in the world and I can’t live without you at all …”, “It is so difficult and lonely for me without your support … I have no choice but to patiently endure the loneliness that has already become habitual … "The signature usually read:" Your sad hubby "or" Your faithful Baby. " In 1872, the Archduchess Sophia died. Elizabeth began to think that she could still find the peace and harmony of life so longed for by her. But inexorable Fate continued to test her …
… In moments of unbearable grief, having just received the news of the death of her son, Elizabeth showed inhuman restraint. It was she who did what no one else dared to do - she told her husband that their son was no more. She was the first to see Rudolph in a coffin, covered up to his chest with a white shroud. For a moment, it seemed to her that he just fell asleep with a strange smile on his lips. Only in these terrible moments, while her husband had not yet appeared, did she give free rein to her despair, falling to her knees in front of the dead body of her son.
During these hours, filled with mourning ceremonies and a crowd of mostly unnecessary strangers, Elizabeth tried to hold on with her last strength, and she succeeded. Under the thick black veil, no one saw her face turned into a mournful mask. Franz Joseph, constantly keeping in sight her petrified figure, begged her not to attend the burial ceremony.
Ludwig ANGERER (1827-1879).
After that dreadful day, late at night, Elizabeth quietly left the palace. The first fiacre she met at this dead hour took her to the Capuchin monastery, where Rudolph had just been buried. Refusing the services of a monk, she slowly descended into the crypt, lit by the dim
light of torches and, restraining an inhuman cry, quietly said: "My boy, tell me what happened to you?.."
Elizabeth on the island of Corfu. Wilhelm von Kolbach.
… The last incomplete 10 years of Elizabeth's life were years of parting with everything that surrounded her. She gave away all her somewhat elegant things, and her state of mind clearly testified that life had lost all meaning for her. In vain were Franz Joseph's hopes that the acuteness of grief would at least someday subside. He tried to get his wife out of the prison she created herself - Elizabeth locked herself in a small mansion in Ischl, where her husband first saw her as a girl living in anticipation of happiness. And he seemed to succeed, but what followed was some eerie and restless wandering of Elizabeth around the world. As a seriously wounded person, she was looking for a place where she could forget herself for a minute and somehow calm the unbearable pain.
Furious paparazzi, who at that time did not yet have such a name, but whose essence did not change at all from this, relentlessly followed her on her heels, splashing out shameless lies and shameless statements on the pages of newspapers, sometimes, however, diluting all this with a sad truth. They wrote about Elizabeth that she was clearly not herself and that, they say, she often shakes a sofa cushion in her arms, asking those around her if her son is handsome.
Death of the Austrian Empress
A telegram from Geneva informs about a new atrocity of the anarchists, which in its senselessness and its madness surpasses everything that has been so far. Some Italian anarchist near the Borivage hotel stabbed the Austrian Empress with a dagger in the heart. The blow was fatal and the unfortunate empress, transferred to the hotel, soon died without regaining consciousness.
This new atrocity that revolts the soul is all the more monstrous and incomprehensible that the elderly Empress of Austria Elizabeth never even took an indirect part in politics; her whole life was devoted to goodness and good deeds.
Especially in recent years, shocked by the premature death of her son, Crown Prince Rudolph, and dejected not only by mental, but also by physical torment, the late Empress treated her neighbor's grief with heartfelt sympathy and helped the suffering wherever possible.
Two things were removed from the empress's dead body, which she did not part with - a wedding ring, which she wore not on her finger, but on a chain under her clothes in the form of a pendant, and a locket with a lock of her son's hair. According to the results of the examination, it turned out that the point of the file penetrated 85 millimeters into the body and pierced the heart. The V-shaped wound was barely visible, and not a drop of blood came out of it.
The assassination attempt by a terrorist on Empress Elizabeth 1898.
At the trial, Lukeni was asked if he felt remorse. “Of course not,” he replied, happily posing for photojournalists and blowing kisses into the hall. He was sentenced to life in prison. He served only two years in prison when he was found hanging from a leather belt.
Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth on a walk 1890.
The imperial couple on horseback in the Zoological Garden. Lithograph by Eduard Kaiser.
Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria. Engraving by A. Fleischmann from the portrait of Karl Piloti. 1853.