About the Exhibition

November 21, 2016 will be the centenary of the death of Emperor Franz Joseph, who ruled over the Habsburg Monarchy for sixty-eight years. Having ascended the throne at the age of eighteen, he increasingly became a symbol of the multinational Habsburg Monarchy and its cohesion. However, his policies left many of the problems of this complex state unsolved, and in the long run led to its collapse. In posterity’s view of the Franco-Josephinian era, these social, national and political tensions have tended to be effaced by the glamour of the imperial age and the astonishing culture that flourished around the turn of the century and today is justly famed worldwide.

In view of the complexity of the subject, Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. (SKB) in collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna took the decision to mark the centenary with an exhibition divided between four different locations, each of which will explore different facets of Franz Joseph’s reign and life. Curated by Professor Karl Vocelka and Dr Mario Döberl, the range of aspects covered by the exhibition includes the emperor as a private individual and monarch at Schönbrunn Palace, court ceremony during his reign at the Imperial Carriage Museum in Vienna, everyday life at the Imperial Furniture Collection ● Vienna Furniture Museum, and the emperor’s passion for hunting at Schloss Niederweiden in Lower Austria. The exhibits will be showcased in displays designed by architect Erich Woschitz that take into account the special features of each individual exhibition venue.

To mark the centenary of the emperor’s death Schönbrunn Palace will be opening the White and Gold Rooms, the Bergl Rooms and the Crown Prince’s Apartment – parts of the palace that are otherwise not open to the general public. The east wing of the ground floor of Schönbrunn Palace will thus be open for the first time in its entirety.

The imperial hunting lodge of Niederweiden in the Marchfeld region of Lower Austria, hitherto only open at weekends, will be open daily for the duration of the exhibition, thus enabling access for a larger number of visitors. A varied programme to accompany the exhibition includes the hunting lodge’s unique Baroque game kitchen, where visitors can enjoy a menu of game dishes fit for an emperor..

Project-managed by Dr Lieselotte Hanzl-Wachter, this will be one of the largest exhibitions marking the centenary of the death of Emperor Franz Joseph, giving a comprehensive picture of the emperor as an individual and the longest-reigning ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy.

Exhibition curators:

For the locations of Schönbrunn Palace, Imperial Furniture Collection ∙ Vienna Furniture Museum and Schloss Niederweiden

Univ. Prof. Dr. Karl Vocelka

Coordination and assistance:

Martin Mutschlechner, Department of Research and Documentation, Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. (SKB)

For the location of the Imperial Carriage Museum:

Dr. Mario Döberl

Exhibition design:

Erich Woschitz, architect

Project management:

Dr Lieselotte Hanzl-Wachter

Acting director of the Department of Research and Documentation, SKB