Written By: Seanryan Lai-Academic
For 127 years and on, Empress Elizabeth of Austria (1837–1898), known affectionately as ‘’Sisi’’, has remained a figure of fascination among nineteenth-century history enthusiasts. Famed for her beauty and her free-spirited and independent nature during her lifetime, the Empress became a fashion icon and was well-loved across Europe. Her tragic death in 1898 led to a romanticization of her story and since then the Empress has joined a long list of feminist icons with films such as Sissi (1955) portrayed by Austrian actress, Romy Schneider and the recent Netflix miniseries Die Kaiserin (2022) starring German actress Devrim Lingnau depicting the Empress as a romantic and tragic figure. More importantly, the Empress also had a special affinity with Hungary which made her play a significant and influential role in the reorganization of the Austrian Empire, the third-largest empire in Europe, into the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
Empress Elizabeth’s special bond with Hungary can be traced back to her opposition to the strict rules of the Viennese court and her desire to gain freedom. After the suppression of the 1848 revolution in Hungary in which the country was placed under direct military rule from Vienna, and the nation’s ancient constitution was forfeited, the Hungarian aristocracy were despised by the Viennese court who considered the Magyars to be a rebellious people who could not be tolerated because they expressed a self-confidence and pride that defied an absolute ruler with divine right. It was this anti-Hungarian sentiment within the Viennese court especially espoused by the Archduchess Sophie, the Emperor’s mother, that made the Empress more sympathetic of the Hungarians. For Elizabeth, as relations with her mother-in-law worsened and the more critical she felt about Austrian neo-absolutism, Budapest’s defiance of Vienna made her admire the Hungarians. After her first visit to Hungary in 1857 and her trips to Madeira and Corfu in 1863 in which she spent long hours in conversation with Hungarian lady-in-waiting Lily Hunyady, the Empress decided to take up Hungarian lessons. Her desire to take up Hungarian was opposed by Archduchess Sophie, and even her husband Franz Joseph I who claimed that ‘’Hungarian was too difficult’’. This interdiction only made her more determined in learning the language and by 1864, she was making rapid progress in Hungarian which astonished the Viennese court who often found fault with her insufficient knowledge of languages. It was also during this time when she met Ida Ferenczy, a Hungarian country girl who had connections with Hungarian liberals such as Ferencz Deák and Gyula Andrássy and who became her closest confidant.
In the late 1850s and early 1860s, the Austrian Empire was plunged into deep crisis after the devastating loss of Lombardy to Piedmont-Sardinia in 1859 and tensions in Prussia were reaching boiling-point as the two German states battled for supremacy in Germany. As the empire’s state worsened and with the threat of nationalism from within, Hungary took center stage in Austria’s domestic affairs as the Emperor realized that reforms and concessions had to be made in order to preserve the multinational empire. The person who made Franz Joseph come to this realization was his wife Elizabeth who urged him to reconcile with Hungary. Elizabeth’s love for Hungary can especially be seen in January 1866 when a delegation of the Hungarian national diet visited Schönbrunn Palace to officially invite the Empress for a visit and to bring good wishes on her birthday, and it was during this event that she also met Andrássy. When Andrássy and the Hungarian delegation came to greet her, she presented herself as a fairytale princess and her Hungarian national costume consisting of a white silk dress and black bodice trimmed with rich lacings of diamonds and pearls were given a romantic interpretation. During the after-dinner reception, the Empress told Andrássy, ‘’You see the Emperor’s affairs in Italy go badly, it pains me; but when things happen in Hungary, that is the death of me’’. From that point onwards, Andrássy knew that he had found in Elizabeth a special advocate for the Hungarian demands for the restoration of the constitution and for the coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary.
Later that month, the Emperor and the Empress visited Hungary and the liberality, elegance and the openly flaunted temperament of the Hungarian aristocracy attracted Elizabeth. For her, Budapest offered her an escape from the strict life in Vienna. The undisputed high point of the visit was her speech in fluent Hungarian to the Hungarian national diet which drew applause and emotion and made her immensely popular in Hungary. From that point onwards with Ida serving as an intermediary, Elizabeth had regular political correspondence with Andrássy. On 15 June 1866, war broke out between Austria and Prussia, and during these worrisome days the Empress was briefed of the political and military situation and kept in touch with her Wittelsbach family in Bavaria, a state that was allied to Austria and was under threat from Prussia. Soon horror stories emerged from the battlefield such as in Custoza where the new Kingdom of Italy allied with Prussia was wreaking havoc in Venetia and on 3 July, the Austrians were decisively defeated by the Prussians at Königgrätz in Bohemia. As Prussian troops advanced on Pressburg, Elizabeth left Vienna for Budapest with her children against the wishes of the Archduchess Sophie. On arrival in Budapest, she and her children were received warmly by the Hungarians as Deák, Andrássy and other Hungarian political figures came to greet her at the railway station. In Hungary, the Empress would come under more influence from Andrássy and Hungarians working towards a compromise.
In August 1866, while the Emperor signed the Peace of Prague in which Austria lost its dominance in Germany to Prussia, was forced to pay twenty million thalers and ceded Venetia to Napoleon III of France who soon gave it to Italy, Franz Joseph begged his wife to return to Vienna. Elizabeth however, refused to leave Budapest, and although she did eventually visit Vienna for a few days, she used this opportunity to put pressure on her husband to give concessions to Hungary. During these crucial months, Ida remained by Elizabeth’s side and in the autumn of 1866, another Hungarian, Max Falk a journalist living in Vienna. Falk gave Elizabeth Hungarian history lessons which had a great effect on Elizabeth. Falk read the banned poems of Jozef Eötvös to her, and she also expressed a curiosity and wish to read the banned pamphlet by Hungarian national hero, Stefan Széchenyi, A Look at the Anonymous Backward Look that was published in London in the late 1850. Perhaps most controversial was when she read another brochure, The Collapse of Austria which appeared in 1867 and blamed Austrian policies for causing its own downfall. More disturbing news came to the Hofburg when news of the execution of the Emperor’s brother Archduke Maximilian in Mexico and Franz Joseph’s visit to Bohemia which, devasted by war, made the situation more pressing. Czech nationalism also started to grow while Andrássy travelled back and forth between Budapest and Vienna for negotiations, carrying Elizabeth’s letter urging reconciliation with Hungary which made the reorganization of the empire an important matter.
Finally, in February 1867 the Austro-Hungarian Compromise came into being following the concept of dualism, which involved the creation of a large realm with two political centers, Vienna and Budapest. This divided political power between the Austrians in the western half (Cisleithania) and Hungarians in the eastern half (Transleithania). The old Hungarian constitution was re-established and the Austrian Empire became the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary with two capitals, two parliaments and two cabinets. Only the ministries of foreign affairs, war and finance served both sections. Andrássy was named as first constitutional prime minister of Hungary. On 8 June 1867, in Saint Matthias Church in Budapest, Franz Joseph was crowned as King of Hungary as Andrássy placed the holy crown of Saint Stephen on the Emperor’s head. Elizabeth was also anointed as Queen of Hungary. The coronation and the Empress’s visit to Hungary after the Compromise was a truly triumphal procession as crowds greeted her with flowers and Elizabeth paid homage to the Compromise by displaying her marital affection. In 1868, Marie Valerie, Franz Joseph and Elizabeth’s youngest child, was born in Budapest. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise and the birth of the Dual Monarchy was Elizabeth’s greatest achievement. As Ferencz Deák stated, ‘’It is important to remember at this time that the Empress was the beautiful Providence granted to the Hungarian fatherland’’ while Eötvös, now Hungarian Minister of Culture wrote to Max Falk, ‘’Firmly as I believe that never before has a country had a queen more deserving of it, I also know that there has never before been one so beloved’’.
Bibliography
Corti, Egon Conte. Elisabeth, ‘’Die Seltsame Frau’’: Nach Dem Schriftlichen Nachlass Der Kaiserin, Den Tagebüchern Ihrer Tochter Und Sontstigen Unveröffentlichten Tagebüchern Und Dokumenten. Graz: Verlag Styria; 1934.
Hamann, Brigitte. The Reluctant Empress. New York: Alfred A. Knopf; 1986.
Featured Image Credit: Empress Elisabeth of Austria (April 28 2025), https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-many-myths-of-empress-elisabeth-of-austria-the-19th-century-royal-whose-beauty-and-tragic-death-transformed-her-into-a-legend-180986486/
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