The communion book which Sisi compiled herself and a crown of thorns from Jerusalem, which belonged to the Empress, are now on display in the Sisi Museum.

Empress Elisabeth's ermine cape and matching muff

Taufensemble aus heller Seide

Elisabeth's tolerance towards those of other faiths was not always welcomed in the strictly Catholic Austrian Imperial household. A communion book, which has recently been placed in the Sisi Museum, gives some insight into her religious beliefs.

There are very few written records relating to Sisi's religious education. The only mention made is to the effect that Sisi's mother was not such a strict Catholic as her sister Sophie. A previously unknown source pertaining to Sisi's religious convictions in her younger days is currently undergoing analysis. When the Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. bought the Empress' private library it also acquired a "communion book" in which, in impressive language, the then 14-year-old Sisi recorded her personal thoughts on religion in 1851.

"In dealing with his people God acts like a wise teacher, only letting them know what they are capable of understanding at any one time; later, as their capacity for comprehension increases, he will surely give greater knowledge."

Against the Concordat

As monarch in the Catholic Viennese court, Sisi represented hope for tolerance for members of other religious communities. Thanks to her dealings with the Protestants in Bavaria and the influence of her evangelical grandmother, she had a much more tolerant approach to followers of other faiths than did her husband, Franz Joseph. In collaboration with Pope Pius IX, he issued a Concordat on 18th August 1855 which made certain areas of official authority, such as the matrimonial court or the supervision of schools, subject to supervision by the church. Naturally this Concordat fell hard upon those belonging to other faiths and liberals. In May 1868 it was rescinded, and it is certain that Elisabeth made a significant contribution to this.

Tolerance in word backed by money

Sisi's tolerance towards other religions is also demonstrated by a donation she made towards the church tower for the Protestant congregation in Attersee, and her comment on this in the liberal Wiener Tagesblatt:

"My late grandfather [King Maximilian I of Bavaria] allowed the Protestants to use state funds to build the beautiful church in the Kar(l)splatz in Munich. The Queen of Bavaria is also Protestant as was my maternal grandmother. Bavaria is an ultra-Catholic state, but the Protestants certainly cannot complain that we have repressed or limited them."

Ermine ensemble, christening robe and milk tooth

Appropriately for the winter, Empress Elisabeth's ermine cape and matching muff are to be displayed in the Sisi museum for the next few months.

Empress Elisabeth's christening robe and Sisi's milk tooth are also on display. The christening robe with matching pale silk lace bonnet was worn by Empress Elisabeth for her christening on 26th December 1837. We have been able to preserve one of the Empress' milk teeth together with its case. The case is made from gold-plated brass bearing the crowned combined coat of arms of Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria.