The Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl,

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states 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, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

, was the summer residence of Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

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

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

belonging to a

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of 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 distin ...

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

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in 1853, Franz Joseph's mother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria, 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 File:BadIschlKaiservilla3.jpg, ''Der Lauscher'' (''The Eavesdropper''), a sculpture given to Empress Elizabeth by Queen Victoria

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 Imperial residences in Austria Bad Ischl