Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria

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Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria
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• Birthday- December 24, 1837 in Munich
• Died- September 10, 1898 in Geneva
• She was 60 years old

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Parents

• Father- Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria
• Mother- Princess Ludovika of Bavaria

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• On September 10, 1898, in Geneva, Switzerland,
  Elisabeth, aged 60, was stabbed in the heart with
  a needle file by a young anarchist named Luigi
  Lucheni, in an act of propaganda of the dead. She
  had been walking along the promenade of Lake
  Geneva about to board a steamship for Montreux
  with her lady-of-courtesy, Countess Sztaray.
  Unaware of the severity of her condition she
  still boarded the ship. Bleeding to death from a
  puncture wound to the heart, Elisabeth's last
  words were "What happened to me?". The strong
  pressure from her corset kept the bleeding back
  until the corset was removed. Only then did her
  staff and surrounding onlookers understand the
  severity of the situation. Reportedly, her
  assassin had hoped to kill a prince from the
  House of Orleans and, failing to find him, turned
  on Elisabeth instead. As Lucheni afterward said,
  "I wanted to kill a royal. It did not matter
  which one."

HER ASSASINATION
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More Info On Elizabeth
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• The Empress also engaged in writing poetry (such
  as the "Nordseelieder" and "Winterlieder", both
  inspirations from her favorite German poet,
  Heinrich Heine). Shaping her own fantasy world in
  poetry, she referred to herself as Titania,
  Shakespeares Fairy Queen. Most of her poetry
  refers to her journeys, classical Greek and
  romantic themes, as well as ironic mockery on the
  Habsburg dynasty. In these years, Elisabeth also
  took up with an intensive study of both ancient
  and modern Greek, drowning in Homers Iliad and
  Odyssey. Numerous Greek lecturers (such as
  Marinaky, Christomanos, and Barker) had to
  accompany the Empress on her hour-long walks
  while reading Greek to her. Her Greek
  genealogical roots are presented in Greek
  pedigree of Empress Sisi. According to
  contemporary scholars, Empress Elisabeth knew
  Greek better than each of the Bavarian Greek
  Queens in the 19th century.

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• National unrest within the Habsburg monarchy
  caused by the rebellious Hungarians led, in 1867,
  to the foundation of the Austro-Hungarian double
  monarchy, making Elisabeth Empress of Austria and
  Queen of Hungary. Elisabeth had always
  sympathized with the Hungarian cause and,
  reconciled and reunited with her alienated
  husband, she joined Franz Joseph in Budapest,
  where their coronation took place. In due course,
  their fourth child, Archduchess Marie Valerie was
  born (18681924). Afterwards, however, she again
  took up her former life of restlessly traveling
  through Europe, decades of what basically became
  a walking trance.

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The Summary

• While Elisabeth's role and influence on
  Austro-Hungarian politics should not be
  overestimated (she is only marginally mentioned
  in scholarly books on Austrian history), she has
  undoubtedly become a 20th century icon , often
  compared to Diana, Princess of Wales. She was
  considered to be a free spirit who abhorred
  conventional court protocol. She has inspired
  filmmakers and theatrical producers alike.

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Sources

• www.germanforspalding.org
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Bavaria
  Assassination
• www.google/images.com

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