Sawston Village History Society
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The meeting began with the Annual General Meeting. The minutes of the last AGM, the accounts for 2023-2024 and the Chairman’s report for 2024 were all accepted with all voting in favour and the officials and committee were appointed. Dorothy Ward was thanked for her service on the committee and presented with flowers on her retirement from it. Annual subscriptions, being due, the treasurer collected £10 each from members who were rewarded with a free raffle ticket.
The speaker at the meeting was the Rev’d Alan Partridge, formerly vicar of Sawston. His subject was the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1837-1898.
Elisabeth, known by her pet name, Sisi, was born in Bavaria. Her parents were Duke Maximilian and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria of the house of Wittelsbach. Her father was an unconventional ruler who preferred travelling to formal court duties and her childhood was informal with much time spent outdoors.
Her elder sister, Helen, was destined to marry the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph, but when he met the sisters, he found he preferred Sisi and so they were married in 1854. He had fallen in love with her and she had little choice in the matter.
At the formal Habsburg court she found life difficult, not helped by her domineering mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie, who constantly criticised her. Her two daughters were taken away to be brought up by Sophie. Sisi reacted by concentrating on preserving her beauty, notably her long auburn hair which took three hours to brush each morning, and maintaining her 18” waist by eating very little.
In 1858 she finally gave birth to a son, Rudolf, an heir for the Emperor. This gave her more status and confidence and she spent time in Hungary and in Mediterranean resorts where she could be more relaxed. She learned a number of languages and became interested in social work in hospitals and mental asylums. She was also very fond of riding and hunting and had a string of horses, often visiting Ireland to add to her stable.
In her later years she and Franz Joseph lived separate lives and she encouraged him to have other liaisons. Her last years were saddened by the murder-suicide of her son Rudolf and his mistress at Mayerling and she travelled incessantly after that. She was assassinated near Lake Geneva in 1898, stabbed by an anarchist. At first he injuries were not clear and she boarded a pleasure boat, only to collapse and die on the way to hospital. She was buried in the Imperial Crypt near the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Alan stressed how challenging her life was and the lack of control that aristocratic women often had over their destiny.
Mary Dicken