Gay Sisi Museum Tour
Innerer Burghof
Hofburg
1010 Wien
Austria
Whether as the saccharine “Sissi” of the famous 1950s films, the unapproachable figure in Visconti, the morbid fin de siècle icon of the musical, the embodiment of female self-determination and revolt against a society on the brink of collapse, a neurotic in constant flight whose absence only served to make her more present, or as a crazed parody in a queer trash musical.
Where does the fascination of this historical figure lie for gays and lesbians? What images and myths do they associate with her? Where do the fault lines lie between an ostensibly real historical figure and the images created of her – and indeed of the image she created of herself?
An exclusively designed tour of the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments in the Vienna Hofburg subjects the stages of Elisabeth’s life and the myths surrounding it to “queer” interpretation. It will focus not on the keyhole perspective of Sisi’s private life or that of the Habsburg family but on the images that Elisabeth evokes in our minds. The guided tour of the museum and apartments is followed by a walk in the historic city centre taking in places that are associated with Empress Elisabeth (e.g. Demel, Augustinerkirche, Köchert).
Duration of the tour including the museum and city walk: c. 2-2.5 hours)
Source: QWIEN
