Photo: Esterhazy | Andreas Hafenscher

Das Appartement der Fürstin

Eisenstadt, Burgenland

ausstellungmuseumstour

The lives of three Esterházy princesses are authentically presented in Esterházy Palace as part of this guided tour. From the writing cabinet to the room where Empress Maria Ludovica also liked to spend the night.Throughout the centuries, Esterházy Palace was not only an object of representation, a stage, a meeting place for noble society at lavish parties, or quarters for illustrious guests on their country excursions. Above all, it was also part of the lives of the Esterházy princesses. The exhibition "The Princess's Apartment" focuses on: Maria Josepha Hermenegilde (1768-1845), née Princess of and to Liechtenstein. Wife of Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy. Maria Theresia (1794-1874), née Princess of Thurn und Taxis. Wife of Prince Paul III Anton Esterházy. Lady Sarah Frederica (1822-1853), née Child–Villiers, daughter of George Child-Villiers Earl of Jersey. Wife of Prince Nikolaus III Esterházy.Portraits, diaries, personal correspondence, economic records, and reports from contemporaries form, among other things, the sources that now make it possible for the first time to let these women step out of the shadow of their husbands. What life path was destined for them, how were they interwoven into the complex network of representation and politics? What facets made up their personality, how did everyday life, celebrations, marriage, and family life unfold? These questions are explored in the immediate living environment of the Esterházy princesses – their apartment.Apartment rooms and historical furnitureThe rooms in the west wing of Eisenstadt Palace, which together formed the apartment of the respective princess, were researched, located, and completely renovated for the exhibition in 2012 with regard to their historical design and use. Among the rooms, the former writing cabinet is particularly noteworthy, where Empress Maria Ludovika presumably stayed during her visit to Eisenstadt in 1810, and which has been restored with its unique Asian silk wallpapers. Historical 19th-century furniture from the collections of the Esterházy Private Foundation will be displayed for the first time in the apartment in 2012, completing the living world of the princely wives, whose fate astonishes and moves. For the first time, the area of the mezzanine directly above the princess's apartment will also be accessible to the public. Here, the lives of the chambermaids and servants who cared for their mistress are the theme. In 2012, the "Red Salon," the former "Sitting Room of Her Serene Highness the Princess," which was also part of the apartment, receives great attention. The precious red and silver silk wallpapers from the first half of the 18th century provide the setting for objects relating to the history of Empress Sisi and Emperor Franz Joseph I, which also have their points of connection with that of the Esterházy princes.