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Terry Wollman is an in-demand Producer, Guitarist, Music Director and Composer who has worked with an array of artists including Melissa Manchester, Billy Preston, The Crusaders, Little Richard, Wilson Phillips, Joan Baez, Joe Walsh, Keb’ Mo’, and Eartha Kitt, to name just a few.  Terry has produced artists including Tony Bennett, Dick Van Dyke, Dave Grusin with Alan Bergman, and Melissa Manchester’s 20th album “You Gotta Love The Life” with special guests artists Stevie Wonder, Joe Sample, Dave Koz, Dionne Warwick and Al Jarreau.  Wollman’s debut album “Bimini” (1988) received worldwide critical acclaim.  He recently released his 7th CD, a 25 year retrospective entitled “Silver Collection”.  His first single “Welcome To Paradise” (featuring Terry with Dave Koz on alto sax) debuted at #1 Most Added on Billboard.

To mark the anniversary of Making It with Terry Wollman, we invite back Melissa Manchester, Terry's first guest on the show, to interview Terry Wollman! Terry Wollman moved from Miami to Los Angeles after graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music with a degree in Arranging.   He quickly built a solid reputation as an in-demand Producer, Guitarist, Music Director and Composer.  Terry has worked with an array of artists including Melissa Manchester, Billy Preston, The Crusaders, Little Richard, Wilson Phillips, Joan Baez, Joe Walsh, Keb’ Mo’, and Eartha Kitt, to name just a few.  Terry has produced artists including Tony Bennett, Dick Van Dyke, Dave Grusin with Alan Bergman, and Melissa Manchester’s 20th album “You Gotta Love The Life” with special guests artists Stevie Wonder, Joe Sample, Dave Koz, Dionne Warwick and Al Jarreau.  Wollman’s debut album “Bimini” (1988) received worldwide critical acclaim.  He recently released his 7th CD, a 25 year retrospective entitled “Silver Collection”.  His first single “Welcome To Paradise” (featuring Terry with Dave Koz on alto sax) debuted at #1 Most Added on Billboard.

“Destinations are only desirable because a journey lies in between. If I arrived somewhere and knew that I would never leave again, even a sojourn in a paradise would turn into hell for me”, wrote Elisabeth. Her restlessness increases, and family and confidantes grow ever more worried about the melancholic empress. In 1897 her daughter Marie Valerie writes in her diary: “Unfortunately Mama wants to be alone more than ever ... and only talks of sad things”. And an entry in May 1898 reads: “... the deep sadness that used to descend on Mama only for periods at a Englisch time now never leaves her. Today Mama said again that she often longs for death ...”www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In contrast to the simple living conditions on board ship, the saloon car built specially for her journeys across Europe is luxuriously appointed. You can enter and explore the reconstruction of the carriage here. The original imperial saloon car can be visited at the Technisches Museum Wien, the Austrian National Museum of Science and Technology.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This 63-piece medicine chest was part of the empress’s luggage. As well as numerous mustard plasters, bandages, salves and vials it also contains a syringe filled with cocaine. At that time opiates were used differently to the way they are now in modern medicine. Cocaine was valued for its antispasmodic and antidepressant effects, and it was administered intravenously in the case of menstrual pain and during the menopause.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

“Never stay in one spot for long“, writes Elisabeth. Elisabeth’s wanderlust becomes increasingly intense – the further away she is from Vienna the more at ease she feels. With the excuse of seeking relief for her poor health, the empress goes on long journeys, eager to encounter foreign lands and cultures. Above all she loves travelling by ship, especially when the sea is rough, so she can feel close to the elements. On the deck of her yacht is a glass pavilion from where she has an unobstructed view of the ocean. Here she has herself bound to a chair when storms rage, when the crew fear for their lives, declaring: “This I do like Odysseus, because the waves lure me”.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth, who has written poetry since her youth, increasingly uses her romantic versifying as a means of escape. She worships Homer, and writes numerous poems inspired by her great idol, the German poet Heinrich Heine, which reveal not only her disappointment, melancholy and longings but also her misanthropy and increasing isolation. She begins to identify with Titania, the fairy queen from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In order to please his wife, Franz Joseph even has her bedroom at the Hermes Villa in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, which she calls “Titania’s enchanted castle”, decorated with scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

With time, Elisabeth learns to defend her interests at court and begins to lead a life in line with her own ideas. She now does exactly what she wants and increasingly refuses to fulfil her offical obligations as empress. Franz Joseph and Elisabeth have become estranged. Elisabeth finds the lure of the infinite ocean irresistible and dreams of soaring free like a seagull: I am a seagull, from no land... In order to distract herself Elisabeth goes on long journeys and seeks out refuges, places where she can live in freedom. These include the Hungarian chateau of Gödöllö near Budapest, the Hermesvilla in the Lainzer Tiergarten on the outskirts of Vienna as well as the Achilleion on the Greek island of Corfu. Here she has a magnificent villa built in Pompeian style and named after her favourite figure from Greek mythology, furnishing it with valuable antiques. But only a short time afterwards the increasingly restless empress loses interest in the Achilleion too and has it put up for sale. In the event, it remained unsold until afer her death. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Fans, veils and parasols become indispensable accessories for the empress from an early stage, enabling her to conceal her face from the gaze of curious strangers. Elisabeth hated being stared at. Aged fifty she wrote: “Perhaps later on I will go around in a veil all the time, and not even those closest to me shall see my face again.“ To go with her mourning dress, the empress wore jewellery made of black paste stones and jet. It was customary to avoid using precious gems for mourning jewellery, the plainness of the material serving to emphasise retreat from the world during the mourning period.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After the tragic suicide of her only son, Rudolf, in 1889, Elisabeth becomes increasingly bitter, withdrawing more and more into herself, becoming reclusive and unapproachable and wearing only black. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Though fit and aware of her health, the empress was also under constant medical supervision. She knew that dental hygiene was essential to both her health and beauty. The dental instruments belonging to her personal dentist and letters from her close friend Countess Ferenczy provide evidence of regular treatment.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth was regarded as one of the most beautiful women of her time and was conscious of her reputation. The major part of her daily routine was devoted to her beauty regime. Elisabeth was particularly proud of her thick, ankle-length hair, the dressing and styling of which occupied two to three hours each day. In order to preserve her much-admired beauty Elisabeth tried out countless recipes for cosmetic preparations. Here you can see some of the original recipes. Elisabeth swore by such bizarre methods as raw veal worn overnight underneath a leather face mask. Elisabeth was especially concerned to preserve her slender figure. She was about 5 feet 8 inches or 172 centimetres tall and weighed between 99 and 103 pounds or 45 and 47 kilos, and her waist measured an incredible 20 inches or 51 centimetres. Elisabeth tried numerous different diets to maintain her weight. Her personal weighing scales played an important role in her routine: Elisabeth weighed herself daily and with advancing age tried ever more excessive diets. The rumours that she drank raw meat juices are, however, false – the raw veal was tenderised in a meat press and the resulting juices seasoned and boiled before Elisabeth drank them. The story that the empress consistently starved herself in order to remain slim should also be consigned to the realm of legend; receipts from various pastry shops show that Elisabeth was extremely fond of confectionery and ice-cream. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The empress takes refuge from the court in sporting activities, the cult of her own beauty and in travelling. One of Elisabeth’s greatest passions since childhood has been riding. Her father had taught her acrobatic riding as a child, and now the empress trains intensively, becoming one of the best and most daring horsewomen in Europe. Her exploits when out hunting to hounds go to the bounds of what is humanly possible. Here for the first time we encounter a side of Elisabeth’s personality that consciously seeks to challenge her own limits, among other things in extreme sporting achievements where she deliberately exposes herself to risk.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth fulfils her duties as empress with increasing reluctance. She dislikes pomp, finds court ceremonial tedious and despises the rigid hierarchical structures and intrigue at the Viennese court.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Displayed in front of the portrait of Elisabeth as Queen of Hungary is another dress. This is a replica of the gown she wore at the Hungarian coronation. It was made for her by Worth, the famous couturiers in Paris. When Franz Joseph and Elisabeth emerged from St Matthew’s after the coronation ceremony they were hailed by cheering crowds. Elisabeth withdrew as soon as possible to exchange her heavy gown with its train for a simple tulle dress. The stele beside the dress contains a reconstruction of the Hungarian coronation jewellery, which no longer exists today.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth increasingly makes deliberate use of the power of her beauty to achieve her own ends. She has little interest in active politics and interferes in her husband’s affairs of state only once, in aid of the Hungarian cause. Elisabeth feels a great affection for the proud and temperamental Hungarian people, who have been subject to absolutist rule since the suppression of the revolution in 1849. She becomes the fervent champion of Hungarian interests and has close contact with leading Hungarian representatives. It is without doubt due chiefly to her efforts that Franz Joseph eventually signed the Compromise of 1866 which recognised Hungary’s historical rights and established the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1867 the coronation of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth as King and Queen of Hungary takes place in the Cathedral of St Matthew in Budapest.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The young empress begins to suffer from insomnia, a lack of appetite and a persistent cough. As a preventative measure against lung disease her doctors recommend that she is sent to Madeira. For the first time Sisi is again free of any obligations and can enjoy life far from the stifling constraints of the court. When Elisabeth returns to the Viennese court after an absence of two years, a profound transformation has taken place. The once graceful but shy and melancholic young girl has become a self-confident, proud beauty. This is the period in which the famous portraits by Franz Xaver Winterhalter were painted. The most famous of this series, painted in 1865, is without doubt the portrait displayed here which shows Elisabeth wearing a ballgown known as the “star dress” together with the famous diamond stars in her hair. Elisabeth owned a set of 27 diamond stars, some of which she later bequeathed to her granddaughter, Archduchess Elisabeth, daughter of Crown Prince Rudolf. The glass stele contains a replica of these diamond stars.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

On the wall is a painting by Georg Raab potraying the empress on the occasion of her silver wedding anniversary in 1879. In the portrait she is wearing the famous set of ruby jewellery, part of the Habsburg crown jewels which no longer exist today. A replica of this famous jewellery is displayed in the stele beside the painting. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth’s wedding on 24th April 1854 marks the beginning of a new stage in her life. She is overtaxed by the elaborate formal ceremonies in which she is the focus of attention, and by the huge burden of expectation placed on her. In the middle of her first reception as the new empress she bursts into tears of exhaustion and leaves the room. Elisabeth initially tries to fulful the expectations placed on her. The imperial couple have four children, but the eldest child, Sophie, dies at the age of two. Elisabeth is desperate but is compelled to suppress her feelings, as her official position and duties as empress have to take precendence over personal sensibilities.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In September 1898 Elisabeth is taking a four-week health cure at Territet near Montreux. On 9 September, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, the Countess Irma Sztáray, she makes an excursion to Pregny in order to visit Baroness Julie Rothschild. In the evening she travels on to Geneva, where she spends the night, intending to return to Montreux the next day. To keep her identity secret, she uses her usual incognito of the “Countess of Hohenembs” when registering at the Hotel Beau Rivage. Despite this precaution, the next morning a Geneva newspaper carries a report that the Empress of Austria is staying at the hotel. This report is also seen by Luigi Lucheni, an Italian anarchist who has come to Geneva intending to assassinate the Prince of Orléans. However, the prince has changed his itinerary at the last moment and will not be visiting Geneva. Lucheni is far from being disappointed – he now has a far more prominent victim in his sights. On the morning of 10th September Elisabeth goes shopping and pays a visit to her favourite patisserie, intending to take the ship back to Montreux in the early afternoon. On the way to the landing stage Luigi Luccheni is lying in wait for the empress. He rushes up to her, stabbing her in the breast with a file. Elisabeth falls to the ground, but believing she has simply been knocked over she gets to her feet in a daze and makes her way on board, not wanting to miss the boat. Shortly afterwards the empress collapses. When her bodice is opened a tiny, inconspicuous stab wound is discovered. The ship returns to shore immediately and the empress is carried back to the hotel, where she dies shortly afterwards. When Franz Joseph receives the news his only words are: “You do not know how much I loved this woman”.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

From here you now enter the historic residential apartments of the imperial couple. First you will see the suite occupied by Emperor Franz Joseph which then leads into the private apartments of Elisabeth.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Emperor Franz Joseph chose the Imperial Chancellery Wing for his apartments, which contained both the official state rooms and his private suite, and which he used until his death in 1916. The emperor held audiences twice a week. The times were announced in the Wiener Zeitung, and after one had received an appointment, one climbed the magnificent Emperor’s Staircase and entered this room in which one waited to gain admittance to the Audience Chamber. The special feature of these audiences with Emperor Franz Joseph was that any of his subjects, irrespective of their birth or rank, could ask to speak to their sovereign. As there were only limited rules of dress, one would have seen national costumes alongside tailcoats and military uniforms decorated with orders and medals as well as the silk dresses with trains worn by the ladies present, giving a colourful illustration of the regional and ethnic variety of the Habsburg monarchy. The walls are decorated with three monumental mural paintings by Johann Peter Krafft. They were painted in 1832 and depict important events from the reign of Emperor Franz I, the grandfather of Emperor Franz Joseph.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Beyond her dressing room Elisabeth had a bathroom in the modern sense of the word installed in 1876, the first member of the imperial family to do so. On the left is the empress’s bathtub, made of galvanised sheet copper; unfortunately the original fixtures and the wooden insert she used for bathing have not survived. Here Elisabeth took her baths, often steam or oil baths, sometimes bathing in cold water to stimulate her circulation. It was here, too, that her ankle-length hair was washed with a special mixture of egg yolk and Cognac, a procedure that took a whole day. The authentic linoleum floor-covering is particularly interesting in that it was the latest invention of the times. The door now leads you into the “Bergl Rooms”, which probably served the empress as dressing rooms.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In this room you can see a table as it would have been laid for a dinner attended by the emperor’s immediate family during the time of Franz Joseph. Banquets only took place in the great State Rooms of the imperial residence. The table is laid according to the strict guidelines that regulated court ceremonial and which even governed dinners attended by the emperor’s immediate family. The table was always festively decked; in the middle stood gilded centrepieces decorated with flowers, fruit and sweetmeats. On silver cover plates lay elaborately folded damask napkins. Places were only laid for one course at a time. For soup and dessert porcelain plates were used, while all other courses were served on silver plates. The silver cutlery bore the imperial double eagle. Each course was accompanied by a different wine, served in a special glass. The green glasses were used for Rhenish wines. In addition, each person had his or her own wine and water carafes as well as an individual salt-cellar. In order to keep the food fresh and warm, it was transported from the court kitchens to the apartments in heated containers and then kept warm on coal- or later gas-fired warming plates. The emperor sat at the centre of the table facing his guest of honour, the other guests being seated in order of the degree of relationship or rank. Ladies and gentlemen were seated alternately and conversation was only permitted with one’s immediate neighbours at table. Guests were served at the same time as the emperor, who began to eat straight away. Since the course was regarded as over once the emperor had laid down his knife and fork and plates were taken away immediately afterwards, the emperor always took care not to lay down his knife and fork until all his guests had finished eating. A dinner consisted of 9 to 13 courses and lasted a maximum of 45 minutes. Coffee and liqueurs were served afterwards in an adjoining room, where the gentlemen were permitted to smoke.This concludes our tour of the Imperial Apartments. If you’d like to know more about the imperial lifestyle at the Viennese court, why not visit the Imperial Furniture Collection where you can see numerous examples of furniture and interior decoration from many of the Habsburg residences. Opposite the exit of the Imperial Apartments is a station of the U3 underground line: the Imperial Furniture Collection is only three stops and five minutes away. And don’t forget the Imperial Apartments at Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the imperial family. After leaving the Imperial Apartments you will find yourself on Ballhausplatz, directly beside the entrance to the offices of the Austrian Federal President and opposite the Federal Chancellery. You’ll find a map giving your position at the exit. Finally, we’d like to thank you for your visit, which contributes to the upkeep of the Imperial Apartments. We hope you have a pleasant stay in Vienna!www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Last used by Emperor Karl I as a reception room, the Red Salon is decorated with precious tapestries made by the Gobelin factory in Paris in 1772 and 1776. The medallions in these hangings are based on paintings by François Boucher. The furniture, the screen and the fire screen are also upholstered in tapestry. The ensemble formed a part of the gifts given by the French king, Louis XVI, to his brother-in-law, Emperor Joseph II.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The apartments in the north end of the Amalia Wing (towards Ballhausplatz) were occupied by Tsar Alexander of Russia during the Congress of Vienna between 1814 and 1815, when all the sovereigns of Europe gathered in Vienna to redivide Europe following the defeat of Napoleon. When Empress Elisabeth occupied the Amalia Wing, these rooms were used for the empress’s private functions. Between 1916 and 1918, the last Austrian emperor, Karl 1, used this suite for his official rooms.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Via the Eagle Staircase in the adjoining Leopoldine Wing the empress accessed her apartments through the guards’room and the antechamber. The paintings on the wall take us back to the 18th century, to the time of Maria Theresa. It was this epoch that provided the model for the prevailing neo-Rococo style of interiors favoured by the court during the reign of Franz Joseph. Two of the paintings show scenes from the famous operas Il parnasso confuso by Gluck and Il trionfo d’amore by Gassmann performed by Maria Theresa’s children. One of the paintings shows the empress’s youngest daughter, Marie Antoinette, dancing in a ballet.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

You are now in the empress’s Small Salon. This room was originally hung with portraits of Emperor Franz Joseph and their children, Gisela, Rudolf and Marie Valerie. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth used this room primarily as a reception room. The marble statue in the corner by Antonio Canova represents the muse Polyhymnia and was sent to Vienna in 1816 as a gift of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia to Emperor Franz I. The table set with breakfast things serves as a reminder that the imperial couple occasionally breakfasted together here, a circumstance recorded in the contemporaneous drawing in front of you.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The “Bergl Rooms” are named after the artist Johann Bergl, who decorated these rooms with mural paintings around 1766. Covering all the walls up to the ceiling, the murals transport the visitor into a luxuriant landscape of exotic flora and fauna. Stay a few minutes and give yourself time to discover the myriad details such as tiny birds, butterflies or exotic fruit that give life to this imaginary landscape. From here you now enter the empress’s Small Salon. But before you turn right, take a look on your left at the Large Salon of the empress, Room 71. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

From the dressing room you now proceed – as Elisabeth once did – to the empress’s bathroom. On the right in the short passage to the bathroom you can take a look at the empress’s lavatory. The water closet of painted porcelain is in the shape of a dolphin, and beside it is a small washbasin. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Here the emperor stood to receive people who had sought an audience with him, and would initiate the conversation himself. On the standing desk lay the audience schedule which listed the people who had been given an appointment for an audience as well as the reason they had come. Here one could introduce oneself to the emperor, thank him for an honour, plead for clemency for oneself or one’s relatives, or present a private matter. Since Franz Joseph received up to a hundred persons in one morning these audiences usually lasted only a few minutes. The emperor ended the audience by inclining his head slightly.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The dressing-cum-exercise room was the empress’s most important and at the same time most personal room and one where she spent most of her time. On the left you can see the empress’s dressing table where she sat for two to three hours a day while having her hair dressed. The empress utilised these hours for reading and learning foreign languages. Besides English and French Elisabeth also spoke perfect Hungarian. Above all, she loved Greek antiquity and mythology; on the small chair beside the dressing table sat her Greek Reader, Constantin Christomanos, who read extracts from Homer’s Iliad or Odyssee to Elisabeth while her hair was being elaborately dressed, or checked the Greek exercises completed by the empress, who was also learning Ancient and Modern Greek. Here in this room – to the horror and incomprehension of the court household – the empress also went through her daily exercise programme in order to preserve her slender figure and keep fit. Facing you are the wall bars she used as well as the horizontal bar and the rings attached to the door frame.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

From 1857 Elisabeth occupied the main floor of the Amalia Wing which was adjacent to the emperor’s apartments. Elisabeth used this room both as her private drawing-room and as her bedroom. The bed stood in the middle of the room and was shielded by a folding screen. At the writing-desk in the far window embrasure Elisabeth attended to her correspondence and wrote some of her numerous poems. Today a facsimile of her Will is displayed on the desk. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

During Franz Joseph’s time this room was used as a smoking room to which the gentlemen could retire, as it was considered impolite to smoke in the presence of ladies. Today the room commemorates Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, Franz Joseph’s younger brother. His portrait hangs on the right-hand wall. Maximilian was offered the crown of Mexico in 1864 and despite the difficult political situation there accepted it at the urging of his ambitious wife, Charlotte of Belgium, whose portrait hangs on the left-hand wall. Shortly after the couple arrived in Mexico, France withdrew its support, which meant that Maximilian was at the mercy of the revolutionary forces under the command of Benito Juarez. He was taken prisoner and eventually executed in 1867. This is the last room of the emperor’s apartments.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The decoration of the room is largely from the 18th century while the furnishings date from Franz Joseph’s time. Like all the rooms in the Hofburg it was heated by ceramic stoves. These stoves were originally stoked with wood by the “imperial-royal court stove-stokers” from outside the room via a “heating passage” that ran behind the walls of the room to avoid making the rooms dirty. Gradually from 1824 onwards a hot-air heating system invented by an Austrian scientist called Meissner was installed to supply the stoves with hot air.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

When the imperial couple moved into separate sleeping quarters, this room became the emperor’s bedroom. Franz Joseph slept on this simple iron bed, a habit reflecting the rather Spartan lifestyle preferred by the emperor. He began his day long before daybreak, as a rule at half-past three in the morning. Only if he had attended late-night functions the night before did he allow himself another hour‘s sleep. First the emperor was bathed by an attendant in a rubber tub which was set up in his bedroom every day. The simple dressing-table for his daily toilette that you can see by the bed indicates not only that Franz Joseph preferred the modest furnishings of his private chambers but that he rejected any kind of luxury as superfluous. After he had dressed, he knelt at his prayer-stool to say his morning prayers. Afterwards breakfast was served to the emperor in his study.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Emperor Franz Joseph took his responsibility as the emperor of a multi-national empire very seriously and saw his role not in the pomp of official receptions but rather as the “foremost official” of his empire, which numbered 56 million inhabitants. He thus spent most of each day in his study scrutinizing all the official documents that required his signature. His working day began before 5 am and did not end until late in the evening after attendance at official dinners, receptions or ballroom festivities. Behind the writing-desk and on the left-hand wall are portraits of Elisabeth by Franz Xaver Winterhalter showing the empress with her hair loose. These paintings were his favourite portraits of his “Angel Sisi”, as Franz Joseph called his beloved wife. The open “jib” or concealed door in the background leads into the room of the emperor’s personal valet-EN-chambre, Eugen Ketterl. Responsible for Franz Joseph’s personal welfare, he was at the emperor’s beck and call at all times and served him his breakfast as well as light meals at his desk.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In this room the conferences of ministers took place which were always chaired by the emperor himself. The marble bust and the sword of honour on the right beside the far wall niche recall Field Marshal Radetzky, one of the most renowned military leaders of the monarchy. He was immortalised in the Radetzky March composed in his honour by Johann Strauss the Elder. The paintings show battle scenes from the Hungarian revolution of 1849. Through the open door in the background you can take a look at the “Emperor’s Wardrobe” which during Franz Joseph’s era contained wardrobes and chests of drawers in which the emperor’s clothing was kept. Franz Joseph invariably wore military uniform. Only on private journeys did he wear civilian dress; when out shooting he wore Lederhosen, a green waistcoat, walking boots and a Styrian hat.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After the betrothal in Ischl, Sisi returns to Bavaria, where preparations for the wedding begin immediately. Among other things, Sisi is prepared for her future role as Empress of Austria. Her fears and apprehension of the Viennese court start to grow. She feels that with her engagement at Bad Ischl she has set foot on the stage of world history and relinquished her personal freedom. Very few of Elisabeth’s dresses have been preserved. The ballgown here is a copy of an original held in the Kunsthistorsches Museum which is now too fragile to be displayed. There is evidence to suggest that Elisabeth wore this unusual gown at the farewell ball given just before her departure for Vienna. A particularly interesting detail is the oriental ornamentation on the stole of the gown: beside a sultan’s mark is an embroidered Arabic inscription, which translates as Oh my lord, what a beauteous dream.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Elisabeth was born in Munich on 24th December 1837 to Duke Maximilian in Bavaria and Ludovika, the daughter of the Bavarian king. Sisi – as Elisabeth was always called in her family – took after her father in many respects: the duke had the common touch, loved the outdoor life and was a keen horseman and traveller. Together with her seven brothers and sisters, Sisi enjoyed a carefree childhood in Munich and at the family country estate of Possenhofen on Lake Starnberg, a world far removed from etiquette, ceremonial and the constraints of courtly life. All her life, Elisabeth was particularly close to her brother Karl Theodor, two years her junior, who was nicknamed “Gackel“. In the case on the left is a watercolour showing brother and sister. A replica of the dress Elisabeth is wearing in the portrait is displayed in this room.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In the summer of 1853 Sisi accompanied her mother and elder sister Helene – called Néné – to Bad Ischl in order to celebrate the 23rd birthday of her cousin, the young Emperor Franz Joseph. The real reason for this journey, however, was the marriage plans being hatched by the two mothers, who were sisters. However, it all turned out quite differently. Franz Joseph fell head over heels in love with the 15-year-old Sisi. The formal betrothal ceremony took place on 19th August. Sisi is subdued, overawed by all the attention being paid to her. Franz Joseph is overjoyed. His mother, Archduchess Sophie, takes pity on the timorous Sisi. Contrary to popular legend, she is not opposed to her son’s choice and is glad to see him so happy.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Grand Vermeil is without doubt one of the most important services in the Court Silver Room. A major work of French goldsmith’s art, it originally included articles for 40 place settings. Around 1850 it was enlarged to 140 settings by Viennese silversmiths. Today this magnificent service consists of a total of 4500 items and weighs over 1,000 kg. It is made of fire-gilt silver which is called “vermeil” in French. It also has an interesting history, being closely connected to the rise and fall of Napoleon. The person who commissioned this sumptuous service in 1808 was probably Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepson. It was executed by the Parisian goldsmith Martin-Guillaume Biennais and the Milanese goldsmith Eugenio Brusa. The service was intended for use at the court in Milan, where Beauharnais governed as viceroy from 1805 to 1814/15. After its completion the service was brought to Milan, but following the defeat of Napoleon the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia fell to Austria. The conditions laid down by the Vienna Congress required Emperor Franz to purchase the service from Eugène de Beauharnais. On the occasion of his fourth marriage to Caroline Auguste he had the service taken to Vienna in 1816 after the engraved arms of Napoleon as King of Italy had been replaced with his own as Emperor of Austria.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This service came to Vienna from Castle Miramare near Trieste, the former residence of Archduke Ferdinand Max, later to become Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. The archduke was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. In 1854 he became commander-in-chief of the imperial and royal navy. In 1864 he accepted the emperorship of Mexico, but failed to establish himself in his new empire. He was taken prisoner by the leader of the republican forces, Benito Juarez, who had him shot by firing squad in 1867. You will hear more about this episode in the Imperial Apartments. The dinner service is a product of the Herend porcelain manufactory in Hungary, which initially specialised in copies of Chinese models. Emperor Maximilian ordered this service for his residence in Chapultepek in 1865. Moritz Fischer, the owner of the manufactory, was permitted to display the service in 1867 at the Paris World Exhibition as an advertisement for Herend’s wares. By the time the exhibition had ended Maximilian was dead, and the service was never sent to Mexico.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This desert service, formerly known as the Laxenburg Service, was commissioned from the Viennese Porcelain Manufactory in 1824 to mark the marriage of Archduke Franz Carl to Princess Sophie of Bavaria, the parents of the future Emperor Franz Joseph. At the end of the 18th century, Emperor Franz I, the bridegroom’s father, had had the Franzensburg built at Laxenburg, a Habsburg summer residence near Vienna. It was designed as a monument to the Habsburg dynasty, and its life-size statues, paintings, coats of arms and stained glass windows were intended to glorify the family’s history. The dynastic idea even manifested itself in the dinner service, as you can see here. Besides the arms and portraits of earlier Habsburg rulers and their consorts, 60 plates known as “Ruin Plates” display views of fortresses and castles belonging to the Habsburg dynasty. It is no coincidence that the neo-Gothic forms of the centrepiece are reminiscent of reliquary shrines, chalices and other ecclesiastical utensils. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Emperor Franz was at pains to compensate for the loss of the sacred office of the German imperial title and to legitimise the divinely sanctioned nature and continuity of the Habsburg dynasty in the newly-created hereditary Austrian empire. Thus, even the dinner services with portraits of their ancestors were imbued with an almost liturgical character, as it were staking a claim on eternity.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

There was a centuries-old tradition at the Viennese court according to which the emperor and empress washed the feet of 12 men and 12 women each year on Holy Thursday, in remembrance of the act of humility performed by Christ in washing the feet of his disciples. The ceremony was performed on elderly paupers, who presented themselves at court on Holy Thursday, washed and dressed in clean clothes and having undergone a careful medical examination. After the foot-washing ceremony they were served a meal consisting of traditional Lenten fare and then presented with the gifts of a lidded earthenware jug filled with white wine, a silver beaker marked with the double eagle and the year, dishes of food and a pouch containing 30 silver coins, a reference to the thirty pieces of silver received by Judas for betraying Christ. The two gold lavabo garnitures or sets were made by the foremost Augsburg silversmiths of the 18th century. They were used at Habsburg baptisms, for ceremonial ablutions at table and for the footwashing ceremony at Easter.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The monumental Milan centrepiece was commissioned for the coronation of Emperor Ferdinand as king of Lombardy-Venetia in 1838. It is the most elaborate ensemble in the Imperial Silver Collection and together with its mirror plateaus it can be extended to a length of 30 metres. On the central piece you can see the allegorical figures of Lombardia with her mural crown and a horn of plenty together with Venetia with the doge’s cap and the lion of St Mark, while around the rim of the plateau dancing genii alternate with candelabra. Standing before this impressive centrepiece one can vividly imagine the magnificence of imperial banquets, with the tables decorated with luxuriant bouquets of flowers as well as arrangements of fruit and sweetmeats. The Classicistic figures on the centrepiece derive from the tradition of Baroque table decorations which, depending on the occasion for the meal, drew on elements of the classical pantheon, or the arts of war or love.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Whenever Empress Elisabeth travelled to the villa called the Achilleion that had been built for her on the island of Corfu, she used the yacht Miramare. On board she used a specially made dinner service and cutlery made of silver-plated alpaca; the pattern of the service was from the range offered by the Arthur Krupp metalware factory at Berndorf around 1890. The only clue to its illustrious use is an engraved coat of arms with a dolphin surmounted by the imperial crown. On the other side of the display case you can see further items bearing the famous dolphin mark which decorated all the objects that were for the personal use of the empress during her stays in Greece. The silver cutlery also displayed here was made by a Trieste silversmith and was also intended for use at the Achilleion.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The historic dinner service known as the “Court Form Service” which was used for state banquets up to the year 2000, far beyond the end of the monarchy, was made at the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory. The silver plates formerly used at court for dining were demoted in the Republic to serving as cover plates, while the food was served on the porcelain service known in the era of the Republic as the “State Visit Service”. It has a white ground, a delicate gold rim with a pattern of dots and a double eagle in black, red and gold. It is also interesting in terms of technique: the decoration was applied to the porcelain by means of a lithographic gold and polychrome transfer process, a technique invented around 1855. From this time onwards, hand-painting was superseded by the rationalised processes of mass-production. Silver cutlery made by Josef Carl Klinkosch and glasses by the company of Josef. & Ludwig. Lobmeyr complement the State Visit Service. The crowning feature of the place setting is the napkin arranged in the elaborate “Imperial Fold”, forming a hollow enclosing a small bread roll. This was only allowed to be used at court dinners when the emperor was present, and its technique was a well-kept secret that was only handed down by word of mouth to selected individuals. Even today, it may only be used on the occasion of state visits by crowned heads and presidents, and only two people know – and carefully guard – the secret of the technique!www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This is the last room in the old part of the former Court Silver and Table Room. In the central display case are silver plates, bowls, casseroles and terrines which give an impression of the range of court table silver needed for daily use. The solid silver service bears the imperial arms and is notable for its simple and restrained elegance. The large amount of silverware can be explained by the fact that the Viennese court dined off silver or gold plates. Porcelain, which had been produced in Europe from 1710, was for a long time only used for the soup and dessert courses; all other dishes continued to be served on silver plates. It was not until during the 19th century that porcelain services began to be used for meals taken in the family circle. The showcases to the side contain gilded table decorations; the stands for sweetmeats and the bronze-gilt girandoles are part of the New French centrepiece which you will see later on in the tour.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

A remarkable exhibit here is the unusual English dinner service that Empress Elisabeth gave to Emperor Franz Joseph for his hunting lodge at Offensee. Dating to 1870, it was designed by William Coleman and is decorated with naturalistic representations of insects, birds, sea creatures and plants. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

One of the first new acquisitions made for the young Emperor Franz Joseph after his accession during the revolution of 1848 was the “New French Centrepiece”, commissioned in Paris in 1850/51. This decorative bronze-gilt piece surpasses the other centrepieces by far in the opulence of its decoration. The huge candelabra have a richly decorated superstructure composed of scrolls and rocaille work and are animated by playful putti, leaping game animals and fluttering birds. The need for a centrepiece of this size had arisen because the young emperor used to issue regular invitations to his advisors and ministers to dine at court. Under the influence of Archduchess Sophie, neo-Baroque and neo-Rococo elements became popular at court, a circumstance that was particularly reflected in the way the apartments were furnished but also had an influence on the design of utensils for the dining table.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Before Empress Elisabeth had her own bathroom installed in 1876 – the first member of the Austrian imperial family to do so – the palace had no bathrooms in the modern sense of the word. Even after this, the majority of those belonging to the court household had to make do with sets of sanitary porcelain consisting of washbasins, water jugs, footbaths, shaving bowls, soap dishes, chamber pots and so on. While these sets were not uniform, the majority of items were made of white porcelain and decorated with a gold rim and a gold imperial eagle. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The central display case contains items from the imperial Linen Room. Up to 1872 the linen of the imperial household was marked with various stamps and yellow dye; it was not until later that monograms and crowns were embroidered on the individual items. Towels and bedlinen used to be made exclusively of fine white linen. It was not until the end of the 19th century that towels made of piqué, and later of terrycloth, came into use. Various porcelain services in the display cases provide a picture of how tastes changed over the course of time. At the beginning of the 19th century the tableware for everyday use in the reigns of Emperors Franz I and Ferdinand I changed very little: plain white porcelain with a smooth gold rim; only the imperial eagle gives any clues as to the current fashion or the individual style of the crafts­man who painted these items. In the display case to the left of the doorway to the next room you can see pieces from the “State Visit Service” which was used until recently as a formal service for state banquets; you will be hearing more about this later on in the tour. During the time of the monar­chy it was known as the “Court Form Service” and was used for evening dinners attended by the imperial family.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In the first room of the Old Court Silver and Table Room with its oak display cases dating from the time of the monarchy you will see individual items or pieces from Old Vienna, Hungarian and Bohemian services as well as examples of white and gold sanitary porcelain from Bohemia. Note the fine glass services made by the firm of Lobmeyr in Vienna with different variations in the way they have been cut. The green glasses were used for Rhenish wines. The display case in the centre of the room contains the imperial silver cutlery. This is still used today for state banquets. The first large set was supplied by Stephan Mayerhofer before 1837; later orders went to his successors Mayerhofer and Klinkosch and subsequently to Joseph Karl Klinkosch, Purveyor to the Imperial Household. A special feature here is the decoration on the side of the cutlery: the ever-popular fiddle and thread pattern.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After the end of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918, several departments of the huge but now defunct imperial household were amalgamated under the name of the “Court Silver and Table Room“ and opened to the public in 1923 with displays of objects from the collection of porcelain, the Court Confectionery, the Court Wine Cellars, the Court Kitchens and the Court Linen Room. On your tour today you will encounter various aspects of the former imperial court household and gain an insight into the glittering world of Habsburg banquets. In front of you is a selection of copper vessels, pans and moulds which convey an idea of the range of different activities carried out in the court kitchens: the turbot kettles, water kettles, asparagus pans, the “Olio cauldrons” and the warming dishes which held live coals in their lids to keep the dishes warm – all of these objects testify to the enormous effort required to cater for a court household numbering up to 5,000 individuals. Copper moulds were used in countless variations for dishes in aspic (for example brawn), sponge cakes, creams, nougat and of course for the imperial version of the famous Viennese cake called “Gugelhupf”, and give an impression of the skills and arts of the Court Confectionery and Desserts Kitchen. At that time, copper was commonly used for kitchen utensils in aristocratic or middle-class households. It has the advantage that it is a good conductor of heat; however, its one disadvantage is that poisonous verdigris can form if it comes into contact with acid foodstuffs. That is why the utensils had to be tinned on the inside and regularly checked for any defects in the tin. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Ten składający się ze 116 części serwis deserowy pochodził z angielskiej manufaktury porcelany Minton i należał do najwspanialszych eksponatów na Wystawie Światowej w Londynie w 1851 r. Nagrodzono go najwyższym wyróżnieniem za estetyczne wykonanie. Zakupiła go angielska królowa Wiktoria i następnie w dowód przyjaźni podarowała część serwisu cesarzowi Franciszkowi Józefowi. Tego kruchliwego dzieła sztuki, z ozdobnymi nieglazurowanymi figurkami biskwitowymi i małymi kubeczkami do angielskiego sosu jajeczno-śmietanowego, dwór wiedeński nigdy nie używał. Kruchliwość tworzywa spowodowała, że tego luksusowego wyrobu nie można było wykorzystać zgodnie z celem przeznaczenia. W tym pomieszczeniu kończy się trasa zwiedzania ekspozycji dworskich sreber stołowych. Proszę udać się teraz na główną kondygnację Hofburga, gdzie czekają na Państwa Muzeum cesarzowej Sisi oraz historyczne apartamenty cesarza Franciszka Józefa i cesarzowej Elżbiety. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Tento dezertní servis anglické manufaktury byl jedním z nejkrásnìjších kusù na londýnské svìtové výstavì roku 1851. Porcelánový servis sestávající ze 116 dílù byl vyznamenán nejvyšší cenou za své estetické provedení. Anglická královna Viktorie tento servis koupila a poslala jeho èást jako pøátelský dárek císaøi Františku Josefu. Velmi køehké umìlecké dílo s figurkami z biskvitového porcelánu, které nebyly glazovány, a s malými pohárky pro anglickou omáèku z vajec a smetany, nebylo na rakouském dvoøe nikdy používáno. Fragilita materiálu uèinila tento luxusní výrobek pro jeho pùvodní úèel nepoužitelným. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This white and gold dinner service was acquired for Emperor Ferdinand in 1851. Ferdinand, nicknamed “the Good-Natured” by the people, abdicated from the throne during the course of the bourgeois revolution of 1848 in favour of his young nephew, Franz Joseph. Ferdinand subsequently moved to the fortress at Prague, where he lived in quiet retirement until his death in 1875. The white and gold dinner service was ordered for his new household in Prague from the porcelain manufactory of the Counts of Thun at Klösterle in Bohemia. The design of the service was the very height of fashion at that time. Tastes had changed around the middle of the century, with the emphatically clear lines of the Biedermeier era giving way to a softer, more flowing formal idiom. The rich gold decoration expresses the growing need to demonstrate feudal magnificence, a tendency that also made itself felt at the imperial Viennese court.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The service with the green ribbons was a precious gift from the French king, Louis XV, to Empress Maria Theresa. It was intended as a sign of increasing rapprochement between France and Austria after the bloody wars of succession. Green intertwining ribbons represent the main decorative element, while the forms of the individual items are modelled on Baroque goldsmith’s work. Between the ribbons are delicate Rococo scenes after paintings by François Boucher. They represent allegories of love, poetry, music, painting and sculpture or contain references to world literature from Homer to Molière. The service is a magnificent example of the elegant wares produced by the royal French porcelain manufactory at Sèvres, founded in 1738. They are made of a special porcelain known as “frit”, which, while more fragile, allows the colours to develop a particularly intense radiance due to the lower firing temperature. The brilliant green of this service had only been developed a short time previously. It was used just this once with the double ribbon motif to make this gift for Maria Theresa.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

It was the movies that made the figure of “Sissi” known and admired all over the world, in particular the trilogy of films starring the young Romy Schneider and directed by Ernst Marischka in the 1950s. They created the image – still powerful today – of the young, sweet, unaffected “Sissi“, which corresponds only partially with the empress’s actual personality. Let’s take a closer look at the historical figure of Elisabeth: www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

This porcelain dessert service made by the Minton manufactory in England was one of the highlights of the Great Exhibition in London of 1851. Comprising 116 pieces, the service won the highest award for its aesthetic execution. Queen Victoria purchased the service and sent part of it as a gift of friendship to Emperor Franz Joseph. This fragile work of art with its unglazed biscuit porcelain figures and little custard cups was never used at the Austrian court, the brittleness of the material making this luxury item unusable for the purpose for which it was intended. This concludes the tour of the Imperial Silver Collection. Please proceed to the main building of the Hofburg where you can visit the Sisi Museum and the historic residential apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The simple standing figure made for the Salzburg monument inspired the Viennese sculptor Hermann Klotz, who added an element of movement to his interpretation. His majestic figure, portrayed in mid-stride, was made as a statuette and a life-size figure. His work was greeted with great acclaim, and a copy of the statuette graced the emperor’s study at Schönbrunn Palace. The life-size figure displayed here was made as a gift to the Republic of Austria by Archduke Franz Salvator, the empress’s son-in-law.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

After Elisabeth’s death numerous monuments to her were erected. Even before Vienna had initiated any memorial projects, two competitions for a commemorative monument were held in Budapest in 1901 and 1902. These activities and similar projects in Salzburg led to the forming of a memorial committee in Vienna. The search for a suitable site was marred by dissensions which ended only when the emperor decided in favour of the Volksgarten.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

During Elisabeth’s lifetime little public interest was shown in the reclusive and rather “odd“ empress – it was not until after her death that the commercial possibilities of marketing the image of the beautiful but unhappy empress who had suffered a tragic death were recognised, exploited and thus reinforced. Soon there was a rash of memorial pictures, commemorative coins and other memorabilia of the empress in circulation.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The newspaper cuttings in the displays in front of and behind you give some idea of how Elisabeth was seen by contemporary journalists. It is evident that during her lifetime Elisabeth did not dominate the front pages of the press as the beautiful, popular and acclaimed empress – in fact there were very few reports about Elisabeth, as she withdrew from her public role as empress at a very early stage and during the last few years of her life was seldom in Vienna. Since the newspapers published within the empire were also subject to strict censorship, critical reports of the empress were unlikely to appear. It was Emperor Franz Joseph who assumed the far more important role here: as the “good old emperor“ he had a place in his peoples‘ hearts and was universally liked. This is borne out by newspaper reports following the death of the empress, in which sympathy was expressed for the emperor as the victim of yet another heavy blow of fate. It was not until after her tragic death that Elisabeth became stylised as an empress revered for her selflessness and goodness – thus establishing yet another false image.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

On 10 September 1898 Europe was shaken by the news that Empress Elisabeth of Austria had been assassinated. Elisabeth‘s tragic death brought the troubled and unhappy life of a highly unusual and often misunderstood personality to an end. However, it also contributed to the forming of an enduring myth that Elisabeth herself had fostered through her unconventional lifestyle. How did this myth arise? The exhibition you are about to see tries to answer these questions by exploring the personality of the empress.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In April 1854 the sixteen-year-old Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria travelled to Vienna to marry her cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph. After the wedding she moved into her suite of rooms in the Hofburg and entered the rarefied world of the Austrian imperial court. You are now entering the Sisi Museum. The displays in the following six rooms will allow you to explore myth and reality of the empress’s life. May we remind you that no photography is permitted from this point onwards.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Emperor’s Staircase with its magnificent marble stucco decoration and bronze-gilt vases takes you up to the main floor of the palace. It was used by Emperor Franz Joseph to gain access to his apartments. The Hofburg was the residence of the Habsburgs for over six centuries and thus the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. In addition to its role as the seat of government and centre of administration, the Hofburg was also the winter residence of the imperial family. From the 18th century onwards, the court spent the summer mainly at Schönbrunn Palace. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The fact that almost no court table silver has survived from earlier periods is due to two reasons: on the one hand table silver was melted down and other objects made from it as soon as it showed signs of wear or was no longer fashionable, or its owner found himself in need of money. However, the main reason for silver being melted down at the end of the 18th century was the Napoleonic Wars. Nearly every silver object in Austria was melted down to produce coins. No exception could be made for the Court Table Silver and so it was also sacrificed to this end. The silver plates and dishes were replaced by porcelain services made by the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory. It was not until 1830 to 1835 that the Court Table Silver was gradually replaced. The commission for this went to Stefan Mayerhofer. Later the firm of Mayerhofer & Klinkosch and J. C. Klinkosch completed the service, which was enlarged considerably after the marriage of Emperor Franz Joseph to Princess Elisabeth in Bavaria in 1854.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In 1777 Emperor Joseph II visited his sister, the French queen Marie Antoinette, at Versailles. On his return he brought with him a total of 500 costly porcelain objects from Sèvres, including the apple-green dinner service and four magnificent tureens, three of which have been preserved in the Imperial Silver Collection. The round Olio tureen – used for a nourishing soup – and the two soup tureens have four curving legs and rest on stands. The sculptural gilded decoration representing sheaves of corn together with the fruit, agricultural produce, flowers, eggs, sea creatures as well as gardening and agricultural tools painted in the medallions, symbolise fertility and the fruitful cultivation of Nature. www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The “Mundzeug” of Empress Maria Theresa is a set of eating implements made for the monarch’s personal use which accompanied her wherever she went. It comprises a knife, fork, serving fork and a spoon, with a small matching eggcup, an egg spoon with a marrow extractor, and a salt-cellar. Of solid gold, it was made around the middle of the 18th century. It was not until approaching the end of the 18th century that matching sets of cutlery with place settings in multiples of 12 came into existence, the number being derived from the 12 apostles. Uniform sets of cutlery then replaced the personal, individually designed sets of the imperial family.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Imperial Silver Collection owes its interesting and comprehensive collection of Far Eastern porcelain dating from around 1700 to Duke Alexander of Lorraine. Karl Alexander was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Stephan, the husband of Maria Theresa. He married the latter’s only sister, Maria Anna, in 1744. After the wedding the young couple moved to Brussels, where Karl Alexander became governor of the Netherlands. He was a keen collector, a habit which led to him accumulating large debts. After his death his nephew Emperor Joseph II was appointed executor of his estate, and he had a large part of the collection auctioned off in Brussels. The valuable Imari porcelain, however, was added to the court holdings in Vienna. Some of the surviving pieces represent an interesting symbiosis between Far Eastern and European culture. These porcelain plates and vessels from Japan and China were fitted with mounts by European silversmiths to adapt them for court use. Their blue, red and gold painted decoration is in the typical colours of Japanese porcelain of that epoch, which is known as Imari ware after the trading port it was exported from. The centrepiece in the form of a rocky landscape was probably made by a Viennese silversmith. Incense could be placed inside the base of the silver tree, with the aromatic smoke escaping through the holes in the trunk. The fruits made of Chinese enamel also contained fragrant essences.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

In the atrium is a display of “tambours” or bronze-gilt stands which held sweetmeats and decorated the imperial dining table. They belong to the New French Centrepiece acquired by the young Emperor Franz Joseph.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The second-oldest porcelain manufactory after Meissen was founded in Vienna in 1718. Although at that time porcelain was a sought-after and costly collector’s object, it was not yet considered worthy of being used at the imperial table, except for the dessert course. The fact that it became acceptable at court around 1800 is also due to the court table silver having been melted down to produce coins during the wars. In 1803 Emperor Franz ordered a porcelain service comprising 120 items for the court table, including 60 pictorial plates for dessert and 24 “panorama” soup plates of exceptional quality. The choice of motifs was both patriotic and Romantic. Framed by gold rims, the scenes include erupting volcanoes, icy glacier landscapes or imposing Viennese architecture – each plate displaying three views from Austria, Switzerland and Italy, executed by the best porcelain painters after old engravings, a painstaking task that took five years.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Old French Centrepiece was commissioned in Paris in 1838 on the occasion of Emperor Ferdinand’s coronation as king of Lombardy-Venetia in Milan. However, it is not known who made this piece. At court it was customary to keep large foreign commissions secret or to arrange them via the offices of the Grand Comptroller in order to avoid offending Viennese craftsmen. The centrepiece is made of gilded bronze. The rectangular mirror plateaus would have reflected the candlelight from the girandoles or candelabra. The figurative decoration and the soft, curving tendrils evoke an impression of elegant grandeur.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The first – and for many years the best – porcelain manufactory in Europe was established at Meissen in 1710. This Meissen service made around 1775 is striking for its exquisite floral painting. The shapes of the individual pieces are good examples of “Baroque Classicism”. While the bulbous tureens with finials in the shape of fruits still seem to belong to the Baroque era, the perforated fruit basket already displays elements of Classicism with its predilection for the formal repertoire of Antiquity.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The Gold Service was the most magnificent porcelain service of the Viennese court. Each individual piece of this dinner service with settings for twelve people is covered with polished gold; some of them are even gilded inside and underneath. The delicate matt gold ornaments are styled on the decorative friezes of Antiquity. Made in 1814, the Gold Service is a masterpiece of the Viennese Porcelain Manufactory. It was urgently needed, as the gold service appropriate to an imperial court had been melted down for coin during the wars against Napoleon. When Emperor Franz visited Paris in 1814 and it emerged that Vienna was to host a large congress of all the European powers, this service was duly ordered from the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory. Thus the court had – at least as far as appearances were concerned – a substitute service for the use at state banquets.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

The folding of table napkins into imaginative shapes is an old but unfortunately dying art. These complex creations imitating the shapes of fans, fish, shells, swans, ducks or flowers were used as table decorations above all in the early Baroque era. They can only be achieved with napkins of the finest linen and a certain size. The imperial table napkin measuring one square metre is eminently suited for this, and there still exists a wealth of models from the 17th century for these artistic creations.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Mike & Billy discuss during Mike's Course their take on Tiger Wood's statement/apology to the media.  Mike Fletcher, President of Sunice, a golf apparel firm known for its amazing technical outerwear—rain pants with a built-in chamois to clean clubs; a "pro-trim" fabric that eliminates belly bulge during the swing—is gearing up to make a splash in the American market.   Until recently, Sunice had been part of the TaylorMade-adidas golf juggernaught, having been acquired in the deal that brought Ashworth Golf to TaylorMade in October 2008. That agreement called for Ashworth to market the Canadian-based Sunice's products in the U.S.   But perhaps the Sunice designs got lost in the shuffle. This month the company announced it had pulled out of the deal and began hiring its own team of U.S.-based executives. Howie Ellis, the widely respected former director of apparel sales at Callaway Golf, will be named executive vice president of Sunice Golf USA. He will be based in Boston.   "We essentially exercised an option to repurchase our trademark," said Mark Fletcher, the president of Fletcher Leisure group, the Montreal company that owns Sunice. "We wanted to focus on the American market more directly."   "We're very excited about our entire 2010 Sunice Outerwear Collection, which features more technological advancements than any product line in our history," said Sunice President Mark Fletcher. "Our Hurricane Collection leads the way, along with our Tornado Collection and Silver Collection, and our Ultimate Jacket V2 is destined to be a huge success because of its innovation and style." Mike & Billy play the GTR golf trivia game - Driver of the Day sponosored by Adams Golf.  Visit  www.tourstrikershop.com and use the promo code "GTR" for FREE shipping on the Tour Striker!  Click Here for more information on the GTR Shag Bag Membership - online golf instruction, great prizes and more! Avila Beach Golf Resort - www.avilabeachresort.com Blacklake Golf Resort - www.blacklake.com Inn at Avila Beach - www.avilabeachca.com Avila LaFonda Hotel - www.avilalafondahotel.com Slickstix - www.slickstix.com Adams Golf - www.adamsgolf.com For more information on Golf Talk Radio with Mike & Billy visit www.golftalkradio.com and visit www.centralcoasttoday.com for Golf Talk TV with Mike & Billy.