edwardslovelyelizabeth: On this day in history, 24th of April 1854, Franz Joseph I of Austria m
edwardslovelyelizabeth:On this day in history, 24th of April 1854, Franz Joseph I of Austria married Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria. Duchess Ludovika, Elisabeth’s mother and her sister, Sophie, mother to the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, chose Helene, Elisabeth’s elder sister as bride to the young monarch. During the summer of 1853 the engagement should have taken place in Bad Ischl, but Franz Joseph thwarted the plans of the two mothers. Instead of Helene he fell in love at first sight with the 15-year-old Sisi, who only came into Salzkammergut to accompany her mother and sister. His brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, later told their mother “that at the moment when the Emperor caught sight of Sisi, an expression of such great pleasure appeared on his face that there was no longer any doubt whom he would choose”. Their engagement was announced fave days later. The couple were married eight months later in Vienna at the Augustinerkirche on 24 April 1854.Early on the morning of April 24, 1854, Te Deums were celebrated in all the churches of Vienna and the august pair attended high mass in the court chapel. By three o'clock in the afternoon the crowds about the Hofburg and the Church of the Augustins, where the ceremony was performed, were so great that barriers had to be erected to keep a way clear for the coaches to pass. From all parts of the Empire and of Europe guests had been pouring into the capital. On the preceding day alone, seventy-five thousand strangers arrived, a most extraordinary number for those days. Even the Orient—Alexandria, Smyrna, and Salonica—sent representatives to the wedding.The famous old Church of the Augustins was gorgeously decorated for the occasion. Above the high altar rose a canopy of white velvet embroidered with gold, under which were placed two prie-dieux, also of white velvet. The walls and columns of the church were hung with damask and costly tapestry and the floor was carpeted. From a hundred candelabra countless tapers shed a soft but brilliant light. The Augustin Gallery, which led from the inner apartments of the Hofburg to the church, was similarly decorated and illuminated. The marriage was to take place at seven o'clock in the evening. By six every available space in the church was filled with invited guests.The bride of sixteen was radiant with all the beauty and happiness of youth. Her wedding gown was of heavy white silk, richly embroidered with gold and silver, over which she wore a loose garment of the same material with long sleeves. A diamond clasp held the long veil of Brussels point lace, and the bridal wreath of fresh myrtle and orange blossoms was secured by a magnificent coronet of diamonds which her mother-in-law had worn at her own marriage and given to Elisabeth as a wedding gift. A diamond necklace encircled her throat, and upon her breast she wore the Bavarian order of Theresa and the Austrian order of the Starry Cross, together with a bunch of white roses.The Emperor and his bride were met at the door of the church by the Prince Archbishop, who sprinkled them with holy water, after which they knelt on the prie-dieux while the other members of the two royal families took their places. After a short prayer Franz Joseph and Elisabeth advanced to the high altar, made their responses, exchanged rings, and clasped hands. As the Archbishop pronounced the Church’s blessing at the close of the ritual, a salvo of musketry sounded from the regiment of infantry stationed on the Josephsplatz, and the next instant the thunder of cannon proclaimed that Austria had an Empress and Hungary a Queen.xx -- source link
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