Sisi and Hungary
She spoke Hungarian and backed the Hungarian cause — hence her standing here.
oPPÁRÉ — CC BY-SA 2.5 hu · Elekes Andor — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Random photos 1989 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Random photos 1989 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A large Baroque palace in the town of Gödöllő north-east of Budapest, built in the eighteenth century for the Grassalkovich family and later the favourite Hungarian residence of the Empress Elisabeth — Sisi. Its association with Sisi is why it is known. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the palace was presented as a gift to the royal couple, and Elisabeth came to spend long months here. She was known for her attachment to Hungary, her command of the Hungarian language and her support for the Hungarian cause at the Viennese court, which made her exceptionally well liked here and still does. The palace shows her apartments and those of the Emperor Franz Joseph furnished in period style, along with the ceremonial hall, the Baroque theatre and the chapel. The extensive gardens around it are part of the visit. Practical points: Gödöllő is about thirty kilometres from Budapest and easily reached on the HÉV suburban railway from Örs vezér tere in about forty-five minutes. This is a comfortable half-day trip, among the easiest and least tiring from Budapest.
She spoke Hungarian and backed the Hungarian cause — hence her standing here.
The palace was presented to the royal couple after the 1867 settlement.
The palace theatre is among the few of its kind surviving in Europe.
Gödöllő, about thirty kilometres north-east of Budapest
An 1867 agreement reorganising the Austrian Empire into a dual state, Austria and Hungary, each with its own parliament and government, sharing the same monarch, army and foreign policy. It followed decades of tension and a Hungarian revolution crushed in 1849. Elisabeth played a part in bringing the two sides together, which is the basis of her standing in Hungarian memory.
Different rather than better. Schönbrunn is far larger and far more crowded and shows the imperial court at its fullest. Gödöllő is smaller and much quieter and concentrates on Elisabeth specifically and her relationship with Hungary. If you have seen Schönbrunn, Gödöllő adds a different angle rather than a repetition.
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