Franz Joseph was born on 18th August 1830. He was the nephew of the impotent heir apparent Ferdinand of Austria (Emperor since 1835) and the son of Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria, who was considered to be to weak to rule. Thus his mother disciplined him as possible Emperor from the beginning. In 1848 Franz Joseph became the Emperor of Austria at the age of 18 after his uncle had abdicated in the course of the Revolutions in the Austrian Empire and his father had renounced. In 1854 he married Elisabeth "Sisi", the Duchess in Bavaria. His reign was coined by the increasing conflict with Russia on the Balkans, the approaching to the German Empire and the nationality conflict in his Empire. During his life he had to suffer many strokes of fate. His first child Sophie died in 1857, his brother Maximilian was executed in Mexico in 1867, his only son Rudolf committed suicide in 1889, Sisi was killed in 1898 and his nephew and the heir apparent Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 in Sarajevo. Although he did not want a war because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, he wanted to demonstrate power against the Kingdom of Serbia and agreed to an ultimatum, which lead to World War I. After 68 years on the throne Franz Joseph I died on the 21st November 1916 in Schönbrunn Palace. The death of the Emperor, the defeats in the war and the nationality conflicts initiated the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire.
After the defeat in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 the Habsburg Empire was on the verge of collapse and to save the Empire Franz Joseph I was forced to come to a compromise with the Hungarians. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 partially re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary and created the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a real union between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Austrian and Hungarian regions were governed by separate parliaments and prime ministers, but the unity was maintained by the rule of a single head of state, reigning as both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. The resulting system was maintained until the dissolution of the dual monarchy after World War I.
Duchess Elisabeth "Sisi" in Bavaria was born in 1837 and had a happy childhood. In 1853 she travelled with her mother and sister to Bad Ischl to meet Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph's mother planned the marriage of her son with one of the duchesses and surprisingly Franz Joseph chose Elisabeth. In 1854 they married and together they had four children. The youngest daughter, Marie Valerie, was her favourite. Elisabeth never liked the court life and from 1860 onwards she was often on journeys far away from Vienna. To mitigate the loneliness of the Emperor Elisabeth arranged the acquaintance of her husband with the actress Katharina Schratt. Elisabeth and Franz Joseph were lifelong friendly connected and often exhanged letters. One of the few political activities of Elisabeth was the mediation of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. In 1867 she became Queen of Hungary. On a journey to Geneva in 1898 Elisabeth was stabbed by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni.
The Kaiserville in Bad Ischl was bought in 1853 by Franz Joseph's mother as wedding gift for the couple. In the following years it was renovated in the Neoclassicist style and became the summer residence of the Emperor. Nearly every year he celebrated his birthday in Bad Ischl. In 1914 Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war against Serbia in the Kaiservilla.
Gödöllő Palace was built from 1735 onwards by Antal Grassalkovich I in the Baroque style. In 1866 Empress Elisabeth of Austria visited the palace for the first time, when it was used as sickbay for the wounded of the Austro-Prussian War, and breathed a wish to obtain it, which was declined by her husband. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise the Hungarian State bought the palace and gave it as coronation gift to Franz Joseph and Elisabeth. In the following time it was restored and rebuilt. The palace became a favourite residence of Elisabeth and she spent around 2000 days there. After Elisabeth's death it was rarely used and started to decay, until it was once again restored from 1996 onwards. Today it houses a museum and is a popular tourist destination.
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