The Kaiservilla in

Bad Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haiden ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

, was the summer residence of Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

and Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi.Parsons 2000, pp. 271–72. The mansion is currently the residence of their great-grandson Archduke Markus Emanuel Salvator.

History

Originally the palace was a

Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became sm ...

belonging to a Viennese

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

named Josef August Eltz. In 1850 it was purchased by Dr Eduard Mastalier. After Franz Joseph's engagement to Princess Elisabeth of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

in 1853, Franz Joseph's mother,

Princess Sophie of Bavaria Princess Sophie of Bavaria (Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine; 27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden. The identical twin sister of Queen Maria Anna of ...

, purchased the villa as a wedding present for the couple. In subsequent years, the villa was altered and expanded in a Neoclassical style by Antonio Legrenzi. The extant central portion was expanded towards the park and the originally posterior portion of the house was converted to form the entrance with Classical

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

and tympana. Two additional wings were constructed, giving the building the overall shape of an "E". The villa is surrounded by a large park in the "English Style". The architectural ensemble in its contemporary form was completed in 1860. Construction was significantly slowed by the fact that it could not proceed during the summer months due to the presence of the royal family. Today, the mansion is home to the Archduke Markus, but also offers grounds tours to the public.

Gallery

File:BadIschlKaiservilla4.jpg, View from Park File:BadIschlKaiservilla2.jpg, White marble fountain designed by

Viktor Tilgner Viktor Oskar Tilgner (25 October 1844 in Bratislava, Pressburg – 16 April 1896 in Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor and Medalist, medailleur. Life He was the son of Captain Carl Tilgner. The family moved to Vienna when he was a child. Hi ...

File:BadIschlKaiservilla3.jpg, ''Der Lauscher'' (''The Eavesdropper''), a sculpture given to Empress Elizabeth by Queen Victoria File:Friedensbaum Tree of Peace Kaiservilla.jpg,

Tree of Peace The Iroquois Tree of Peace finds its roots in a man named Dekanawida, the peace-giver. The legends surrounding his place amongst the Iroquois (the Haudenosaunee) is based in his role in creating the Five Nations Confederacy, which consisted of t ...

in Imperial Park. In the foreground a Memorial Plaque of Ondrej Sobola

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Upper Austria Museums in Upper Austria Historic house museums in Austria Parks in Austria