Who was Katharina Schratt? When and where was she born? How did she meet Emperor Franz Joseph? What connected the What was Empress Elisabeth’s favorite island called? When was the Achilleion built and who was originally supposed to build it? What is it used for today?
Elisabeth’s love for Greece was expressed in the construction of the Achilleion. She had her Greek castle – the Achilleion – built on her favorite island of Corfu between 1889 and 1891. It was named after the Greek hero Achilleus, whom she greatly admired for his strength.
Theophil Hansen, the famous Ringstrasse architect, was actually supposed to build the palace on Corfu. In the end, she opted for Raffaele Cariot from Naples, who completed the designs by 1889. The marble sculpture Achill as the Dying Hero in the palace park was created by Ernst Herter. Busts of Heine, Shakespeare and Homer also adorn the garden.
An Austrian artist was allowed to contribute. Franz Matsch, an artist colleague of Gustav Klimt, created a fresco on the upper floor of the staircase. It again depicts Achilles, this time standing victorious on his chariot, dragging the defeated Hector to the gates of Troy.
This was an enormous financial burden, financed from the emperor’s private coffers. Sisi even considered emigrating to Greece altogether, which met with little understanding from Franz Joseph. He never visited her on Corfu as he disliked boat trips. However, Sisi liked to visit Corfu often. Her two daughters Gisela and Marie-Valerie visited her there once.
Sisi had a great fondness for ancient Greece and even learned ancient Greek. She had plenty of time to do her hair for hours in the morning. The Greek teachers sat opposite her and prepared her for Greece. Thanks to the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy, who published a lot about the ancient archaeological sites, antiquity came back into fashion towards the end of the 19th century.
Sisi soon lost interest in the Achilleion and wanted to sell it, which Franz Joseph managed to prevent. It was passed on to her daughter Gisela, who sold it to the German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1907 . He had it completely renovated and converted it into a 40-room palace and used it for diplomatic purposes.
A victorious Achilles was placed in the place of the dying one and the former private use of the castle became a public one. The garden of the castle is huge and stretches over a hill between Corfu Town and Morajitika.
During the First World War, the Serbian and French armies used the building as a military hospital, after which it became Greek property under the Treaty of Versailles. During the Second World War , Corfu was occupied by Italian troops from 1941 and later served as the headquarters of the German occupying forces.
After the war, it came back into the possession of Greece, which initially used it as a kindergarten. A private company leased it in 1962 and converted it into a museum and casino. In 1983, it was returned to the Greek state and even hosted the EU summit in 1994. Nowadays, the Achilleion attracts tourists and especially Sisi fans from all over the world.
Achilleion Castle, Corfu Achilleion Temple, Corfu
Tip from Sisi’s Amazing Journey: If you are on vacation in Corfu, visit the Achilleion and follow in the footsteps of Sisi and her ancient heroes. Even if it is no longer the same as it was in Sisi’s time, it is still exciting to go back in time.
