elisabeth, duchess in bavaria. b i r t h d a y - d e c e m b e r 2 4, 1 8 3 7 i n m u n i c h d i e...
TRANSCRIPT
Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria
• Birthday- D
ecember 24, 1
837 in M
unich
• Died- September 1
0, 1898 in
Geneva
• She was 60 years old
Parents
• Father- Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria
• Mother- Princess Ludovika of Bavaria
• 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."
•Th
e Em
pres
s al
so e
ngag
ed in
writ
ing
poet
ry (s
uch
as th
e "N
ords
eelie
der"
and
"Win
terli
eder
", bo
th in
spira
tions
from
her
favo
rite
Germ
an p
oet,
Heinr
ich
Heine
). Sh
apin
g he
r own
fant
asy
wor
ld in
poe
try, s
he re
ferred
to h
erse
lf as
Tita
nia,
Sha
kesp
eare
’s
Fairy
Que
en. M
ost o
f her
poe
try re
fers
to h
er jo
urne
ys, c
lass
ical
Gre
ek a
nd
rom
antic
them
es, a
s wel
l as iro
nic
moc
kery
on
the
Habsb
urg
dyna
sty.
In
thes
e ye
ars, E
lisab
eth
also
took
up
with
an
inte
nsive
stud
y of
bot
h an
cien
t
and
mod
ern
Greek
, dro
wni
ng in
Homer
’s Il
iad
and
Odyss
ey. N
umer
ous
Greek
lect
urer
s (s
uch
as M
arin
aky,
Christ
oman
os, a
nd B
arke
r) ha
d to
acco
mpa
ny th
e Em
pres
s on
her
hou
r-
long
wal
ks w
hile
read
ing
Greek
to h
er.
Her G
reek
gen
ealo
gica
l roo
ts a
re
pres
ente
d in
Gre
ek p
edig
ree
of
Empr
ess Si
si. A
ccor
ding
to
cont
empo
rary
sch
olar
s, E
mpr
ess
Elisa
beth
kne
w G
reek
bet
ter t
han
each
of th
e Bav
aria
n Gre
ek Q
ueen
s in
the
19th
cen
tury
.
•National unrest within the Habsburg
monarchy caused by the rebellious
Hungarians led, in 1867, to the
foundation of the Austro-Hungarian
double monarchy, m
aking Elisabeth
Empress of Austria and Q
ueen 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
(1868–1924). Afterwards, however,
she again took up her former life of
restlessly traveling through Europe,
decades of what basically became a
walking trance.
The SummaryWhile 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.
Sources
• www.germanforspalding.org
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Bavaria#Assassination
• www.google/images.com
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