30 December 2003
I just had the experience of a lifetime today. I first visited the plaque that marks the spot where the Empress was stabbed. The commemorative inscription says "Ici fut assassiné le 10 septembre 1898 S.M. Elisabeth L'impératrice d'Autriche" (Her Majesty Elisabeth Empress of Austria was assassinated here on 10 September 1898). Sadly, the plaque has been subject to minor graffiti by persons presumably oblivious to the history that surrounds the woman it remembers. Traces of rust and discolouring are also apparent. The sign itself therefore is in a rather sad and neglected condition. It is nonetheless in existence, still marking the spot where Luigi Luccheni, the young Italian anarchist pierced her heart with a hand-made stiletto. The spot is definitely one of the most gorgeous places in the world to meet your end. It is directly facing the French Alps, below which the old town of Geneva decorates the shining shoreline of the Lac Léman (Lake Geneva).
There is a statue of her only a few meters away, directly in front of the Hotel Beau-Rivage. The SISSI Association and Hotel Beau-Rivage augmented the sculpture by British artist Philip Jackson in 1998 during a large exhibition about Elisabeth. It commemorated the 100th anniversary of her death and drew more than 10,000 people.
The statue is right in front of the Hotel Beau-Rivage, where Elisabeth spent her last night. After what appeared to be an attempted attack, she said she was fine and the boat started. However, soon after stepping on a boat, she fainted was hence carried back into her suite, in which she died twenty minutes later without ever gaining consciousness. I was looking at the hotel where she was staying and in front of which she was stabbed (and in which she was killed) and though to myself how thrilling it would be to see inside the suite, which is still preserved, and verify if there actually is a display case with various Elisabeth memorabilia. As I was craving to witness it, I though to myself, I really don't have anything to lose. I crossed the street to take my chances, dressing in comparatively peasant clothing in relation to the royalty and celebrities that are the average guests of the five star hotel. So, I, the little and insignificant but obsessed student passed through the revolving door and could not believe my eyes. The place was like a palace. I was feeling very uncomfortable, but told myself to keep my chin up and just get it over with. I strolled up to the reception desk I and greeted the two women and man standing behind it. I explained was doing research on the Empress, and that I'd heard that there was a display case in the hotel. One of the women went out to the back, and when she came back out, she handed me a brochure in a folder and took me upstairs for a tour. I was literally shaking with anticipation. Upstairs I am first shown the display case. There are two! Inside the first one there are various little items, mainly former belongings of Elisabeth, including a lovely headdress, photographs, and even a small piece of bloodstained mauve ribbon. The blood has of course faded, and all that is left is a marking on the cloth where the bloodstain used to be. The second glass case hosts a beautiful, delicate looking white fluffy petticoat, decorated by a few small genteel gems. I was then taken into the suite itself. I was told the hotel has endeavoured to preserve the "Sissi" atmosphere of the suite. I stepped in and felt myself drown into the red interior. The furniture appears to consist of authentic antiques, which would explain why the room smells like a museum, which adds significantly to the whole atmosphere. The windows are draped with heavy, yet luscious red curtains matching the rest of the red-themed furnishing. It is simply gorgeous. Size wise, I had thought the room would have been larger. It nonetheless has the ambience of grandeur and royalty. There is small black and white print of a section of the most famous of the Winterhalter portraits of Sissi hanging on the wall of the small passage connecting the sitting room and the bedroom, reminding any guest that the room has a fascinating, yet tragic history. The bedroom is equally charming. The red colour reappears in the decor bedroom, lavishly giving the royal touch to the canopy. It was simply too much to take in at once; it was overwhelming, in the fullest sense of the word. Yet, I could not help feeling as if the room was haunted or jinxed; not by Sissi's angry spirit, but rather by the spirit of her restlessness, and simply the tragedy and feelings of extreme anxiety and despair that roamed the room on 10 September 1898. If I were ever to stay there myself, I fear I would not get a wink of sleep for fear of all my happiness turning into desolation, and all my hope and optimism into despair and anguish. I therefore, would never even attempt to stay there. Any of my friends can witness that ghost stories are my Achilles heel.
I was invited to photograph to room, but unfortunately I had used up all my film on the plaque and the statue. I could, nonetheless, return later to fulfil this task! After stepping out of the hotel, I felt like I was in a dream, and my blood was still rushing for hours afterwards. On the train back to Berne, I read the brochure I was given. Amongst the details of the various way to hotel can pamper you and fulfil you every wish, there is an eyewitness account to the assassination. Fanny Mayer, the wife of the then contemporary owner, Charles-Albert Mayer, witnessed the immediate events following the assassination, and describes them in this text fifty years later.
The Hotel Beau-Rivage has four "exceptional suites" in which famous royal stayed. Amongst them is the Richard Wagner suite, the Ludwig II of Bavaria suite, the Maharajah of Patiala, and of course the Empress Sissi suite. All are available to guests. Staying in them is an experience only the excessively wealthy can afford, as the starting price per night is CHF 3,150.
To see pictures of the plaque, the hotel and the statue click here.
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