Following the birth of her third child, her personal physician diagnosed lung disease and ultimately recommended recuperation at a spa resort. She chose to go to Madeira, the furthest from Vienna of all possible destinations, so that there would be no expectation of a visit from her ‘dear family’. With this, her first flight from the Viennese court, Elisabeth discovered the joys of travel for its own sake, and trains, ships and coaches henceforth became her home. Her trips, which were certainly also motivated by health concerns, became ever longer, and her stays at the Vienna Hofburg became ever shorter. The manner in which Elisabeth’s apartment in the Hofburg was furnished reveals the empress’s attempt to live out her personal needs against all the rules. Amid the uniform neo-Rococo style, which was the obligatory décor for Habsburg apartments under Franz Joseph, the exercise equipment which Elisabeth had set up in her dressing room stood out all the more starkly.
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