Best of Budapest & Hungary

In September, the Royal Palace of Gödöllő, east of Budapest, will host the temporary exhibition ‘Sisi on Tour’, which presents the collection of Queen Elisabeth's personal belongings, organized jointly by the Royal Palace of Gödöllő and the Schönbrunn Group.

Elisabeth Wittelsbach is one of the most interesting figures in 19th century European history. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of her death, visitors can learn about the life of the empress through objects used by her personal and immediate family members, the organizers of the exhibition said.

After the opening of the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg in Vienna in 2004, the Schönbrunn Group's collection strategy was to expand the section of the collection bearing the name of Empress Elisabeth. Today, this collection comprises more than 1,000 pieces and is the largest Sisi collection in the world. The Viennese experts have put together a travelling exhibition of the most interesting pieces, with Gödöllő as the first stop. The exhibition will include around 200 objects from the collection.

Among the items on display will be the silk dress and bonnet worn by Elisabeth at her christening, the gold-plated container with the Emperor's imperial motto and the Hungarian crown, which also contains the soil of the coronation hill of June 8, 1867, and the pendant, also made of gold, which contains a photograph of her daughter, Gizella and her son, Rudolf.

Also on display will be Sisi's special black parasol, several portraits of members of the imperial family, numerous documents, porcelain and textiles such as the Queen's gymnastic trousers, Crown Prince Rudolf's hunting vest, as well as a number of engravings and prints.

The exhibition, open from September 8 to January 28, is curated by Michael Wohlfart, a Queen Elisabeth expert at the Sisi Museum in Vienna.