MY FAVORITE ROYAL
by Kathleen Bittner Roth
Never in my
wildest dreams had it ever occurred to me that I would one day reside in
Budapest. Hungary? A former Communist country? Eastern Europe?
Although I don’t
know how long I might remain here, and even though the circumstances that
brought me here were downright sad, I felt compelled to commit to a year of
remaining here alone. That one-year date passed October 5th, and here
I am, still waiting for things to sort out in the other country I had lived in
for four years—Croatia—another former Communist country.
What a city
Budapest has turned out to be. What a country. What history. I have fallen in
love! And it just so happens that my favorite historical royal fell in love
with this country as well—and with a passion so great, she chose to have her
fourth and last child here. She raised this daughter as a Hungarian, learned the
language (the second hardest language in the world), and spent as much time as
possible in her summer palace twenty miles outside the city.
Who was this
woman? Empress Elizabeth of Austria (1837-1898), nicknamed Sissi (Original
spelling was Sisi) who became a historical icon. Considered the most beautiful
woman in the world during her time, she married Emperor Franz Josef, her
cousin, when she was barely sixteen. His domineering mother had arranged a
meeting between the young emperor and Sissi’s older sister for the purpose of
marriage, but one look at fifteen-year-old Sissi and the twenty-three-year-old emperor
told his mother if he couldn’t have Sissi, he wouldn’t marry at all. For him,
it was love at first sight.
Sissi, one of ten
children born in Munich to an eccentric duke, was raised in the wilds of
Bavaria when her father ran off and bought a castle far enough away from court
protocol to avoid his duties. He played and ran free, and so did his children.
Sissi could out-shoot, out-ride and out-curse any man, much to her father’s
delight. Like him, she eschewed court rules, and even though she was shy, she rebelled
at every turn. Wherever she traveled, a portable gym went with her. Every
palace or castle had a gym installed, and Sissi worked out every day. She ate
sparingly in order to keep her sixteen inch waist and some say she may have
been anorexic in her later years.
It was her
stubborn, controlling mother-in-law who likely was responsible for Sissi’s
health issues. The woman took Sissi’s children away from her to be raised at
court according to the mother-in-law’s demands, refused to allow Sissi to
breast feed, and except for the last child, the daughter, born in Hungary,
Sissi never saw much of her children.
Last August, in
the heat of the summer, I had the privilege of visiting her summer palace. I
can see why she loved her home at Godollo. Even though the temperature was in
the 90’s the day of my visit, I forgot about the heat once inside the building.
All the windows and the many doors to various balconies had been flung open and
a breeze flowed through an already light and airy structure. I’ve visited many
palaces and castles while living abroad, but Sissi’s summer palace at Godollo
is my favorite (it’s the second largest baroque palace in the world). The vast
grounds have been left intact (thank God, the Communists didn’t ruin it), and
the palace is in remarkable shape.
Sadly, Sissi was
assassinated in 1898 by an Italian anarchist. You can read all about her on
sites like Wikipedia, you can watch the films made about her life, and even
view her summer castle and her home in Corfu on YouTube, but for me, nothing
compares to the impact of walking through the summer palace where her footsteps
once tread, or hiking the streets of beautiful, amazing Budapest, and seeing
the love people had for her in the form of bridges, statues, cafes and parks
named after her.
While I may have
landed in Budapest under dire circumstances, I have made the most of my stay, and
lately, I actually feel blessed to be here, in a land my favorite royal loved.
Below are a few sites that may be of interest to you:
Wikipedia history
of Sissi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_in_Bavaria
Godollo Palace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCQFVGrPFTw&feature=related
Hello Budapest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqwFvU5vBrA
You can visit
Kathleen’s website at www.kathleenbittnerroth.com
where she writes about the history of Hungary and her life in Budapest on her
blog.
9 comments:
Lovely post. I've never been to Godollo-sounds wonderful. I have been to King Ludwig of Bavaria's castles--the two were close and one could see why. He appreciated great beauty.
Fascinating!!! I'd never heard of Sissi!!! Thanks, Kathleen!
My favorite is Eleanor of Aquitane, Queen of both England and France! Like Sisi, she was regarded as the most beautiful woman in Europe at the time, and also the richest, since she was by birth Duchess of Aquitane, the richest duchy in France. She was married to a prince of France at like age 14, and by the time they both arrived in Paris the king was dead, her husband King, and she Queen. She didn't bear him sons so he divorced her. (He was originally destined for the priesthood, and never came to her bed!) Within 24 hours she was married again to Henry Duke of Anjou, who became King of England within the year. She bore him 5 sons, including Richard the Lion-hearted (and Prince John, of Robin Hood fame).
Thanks for the comments everyone! I visited two of Ludwig's castles, Neuschwanstein (the Disney castle was patterned after it) and Schloss Linderhof which has a grotto inside where Ludwig could row a boat to Wagner's operas! While the former is awesome, Linderhof was much smaller and more liveable. Amazing. Eleanor of Aquitane was amazing too. As for Sissi, every Christmas in Germany, they televise the three movies made of her starring Romy Schneider. Every Christmas, I was glued to the tv! You can find the movies on YouTube in English, but as for part 1, it seems to be movie #2. Perhaps it's available on Netflix or someplace. Worth watching. I love it.
What a fascinating character! Thanks for sharing Sissi's story and your insights on Europe's rich history and culture.
Thanks for stopping by, Tara. The rich history of Budapest alone is awesome. They call it the Paris of the East, but I like it better than Paris. I have gotten to know Americans living here and they all same the same thing: We walk around this city and say, "We live here? We live here!" And we never gte tired of the city and the fascinating architecture. One woman has lived here ten years and she still loves to walk around looking at the buildings and parks.
I am always looking for new royals to read! Thanks for sharing, she sounds very interesting!
Hi Crystal,
I have all the books I could find on her and love the movie. Whenever I run across a statue of her here, I am touched by the ethereal beauty of the artform. She must have been truly lovely in person. They say her hair was thick and reached the floor!
Post a Comment