Description of the attraction
The imperial villa stands on the opposite bank of the Ischl River in the large Austrian resort of Bad Ischl. It is located about 700 meters from the main train station. This exquisite building went down in history as the summer residence of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph I and his wife, the famous Empress Elizabeth, known as Sisi.
It was originally a rather modest structure in the simple Biedermeier style, which was considered an offshoot of German Romanticism. It belonged to an ordinary Viennese notary, until in 1853 the mansion was bought by the Archduchess Sophia, the mother of the emperor, who presented the future villa to her son as a wedding gift. Then began large-scale work on the reconstruction of the structure.
Now the imperial villa is made in a neoclassical style. In its shape, it resembles the letter "E". Of particular note is the building's main portal, which is decorated with powerful columns and an exquisite tympanum on the pediment.
On the territory of the villa there was a luxurious park in the English style, the so-called "landscape park". It is notable for the lack of carefully calibrated symmetry, in other words, trees and shrubs in a park of this kind are allowed to grow as in natural conditions. Also, marble fountains and a monument to Emperor Franz Joseph were installed in the park.
The crowned spouses themselves stayed here almost every summer. Even after the tragic assassination of Sisi, the dowager emperor did not stop visiting Ischl until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. In addition to the imperial family itself, other politicians, noble nobles, and also artists were often found here.
Now the imperial villa is a private property - it belongs to Archduke Marcus, one of the last representatives of the Habsburg family. But despite this, some of its premises and luxurious gardens are open to tourists.
