The Imperial Villa
The House For 60 years, 1854 till 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph and his family spent their summers in the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl, and from late June until the end of August the vast Habsburg Monarchy was ruled from the Emperor’s study there. His mother bought the former Eltz Villa, which makes up the core of the house, in September 1853 on the occasion of his engagement to Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. During the years 1855 to 1858 Antonio Legrenzi extended it to its present dimensions as a rural mansion in villa style. The building exists to this day as it looked after the last of these alterations. The historic rooms remain as the Emperor knew them, with their original 19th-century furnishings. Visitors are conducted through private and public rooms, the historic character of which has been carefully preserved. The tour comprises 15 rooms that contain hunting trophies as well as the typical furnishings of an upper-class country mansion of the period. The Villa still forms an authentic framework for an understanding of the Emperor’s lifestyle. The history and everyday life of the imperial family in Ischl come to life during a tour of the house.
The Park Imperial Parks Director Franz Rauch laid out the 15-hectare park during the years 1855 to 1860. Its essential features have not changed over the years, with the exception of natural aging. Its most prominent built features, apart from the Villa itself, are the two pavilions and Empress Elisabeth’s Cottage (nowadays also called the Marmorschlössel, the Little Marble Palace). An exhibition of historic photos is held in the Cottage each year from May till the end of October. Various points in the park offer stunning views of the Villa itself as well as over it to the peaks and glaciers of the surrounding mountains. Even before Emperor Franz Joseph’s time this was a favourite recreational area on account of its stunning situation. The round walking route skirts two large meadows and takes around 40 minutes for a circumnavigation of the park.
