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Emperor Franz Joseph's Study
The plain, rather modest furnishing in Franz Joseph's study provides a complete contrast to the magnificent decoration of the Audience Chamber. Numerous paintings and private photographs, including many of Empress Elisabeth, reveal the personal side of the emperor's life. Here Franz Joseph began work at five in the morning. While he dealt with his papers simple meals were served to him at his desk at intervals. The emperor, who used to refer to himself as the first public servant of his state, thus spent a considerable part of his life at this very desk. The two large portraits show Emperor Franz Joseph at the age of 33 and his wife, Elisabeth, popularly known by her nickname "Sisi". Long before the films in which she was played by the famous Austrian actress Romy Schneider, Elisabeth became a legend in her own lifetime, a legend founded on her intelligence, her independent spirit, her extravagant nature and her beauty. Misunderstood by the court, Elisabeth suffered increasingly from depression which worsened following the suicide of her son Rudolf at Mayerling.
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