The Empress is set in the time period of 1854 to 1898 when Elisabeth of Austria aka Sissi was in the royal adventures in Viennese court.
The 2022 television series “The Empress” has a talented cast of Hanna Hilsdorf, Devrim Lingnau, Melika Foroutan, Svenja Jung, and many more.
Florian Cossen and Katrin Gebbe are the directors of the show. Florian has worked as a director, Assistant Director, and Camera and Electrical Department in the industry. He has directed about six series Deutschland 86, NSU: German History X, Coconut Hero, and others. In 2010 he won four wards in the Montreal World Film Festival.
The other director, Katrin is a director and writer from Germany who has worked on various movies and series such as Pelican Blood, The Field Guide to Evil, and Nothing Bad Can Happen among others. She has won about ten awards throughout her career.
The writer of the series is Katharina Eyssen who is also the director of one of the episodes in the show. She has worked as a writer, producer, and actor. She has worked in Rate Your Date, Barcelona Crime, Holiday Secrets, The Girl with Nine Wigs, and many others. The co-writers of the show are Bernd Lange, Lena Stahl, and Janna Maria Nandzik.
When Is The Empress Set?
The historical drama series on Netflix named The Empress is set in the mid-19th century era.
The timeline of the drama is from around 1854 to 1898 which follows the journey of the Duchess and her adventure in the Viennese court according to Womens Health.
The drama shows the relationship between the Duchess of Elisabeth von Wittelsbach played by Devrim Lingnau and Franz Joseph I played by Philip Froissant. The sixteen-year-old Duchess gets involved in different difficult and dishonest court politics and the situation is even made worse by her husbands’ mother Princess Sophie of Bavaria and brother Archduke Maximilian.
Elisabeth von Wittelsbach was born on December 24, 1837, and her nickname was Sissi or Sisi because of her upbringing where her parents let her visit the countryside and explore the location as well as enjoyed the creative activities. She was married at 16 years old to Emperor Franz Ferdinand who was 23 years old and was not fond of the royal life of her husband’s family.
Her husband was supposed to marry her older sister named Helen but he fell in love with her instead of her sister and soon after they met there was an announcement of their engagement. The couple married in Austria in 1854.
Sisi found it extremely boring and mostly rebelled against the norm of the court. Because of her habits of riding, smoking, and other activities like gymnastics she was always a hot gossip topic. Nevertheless, she was genuinely loved by the people and was popular among the crowd in her life.
After she was married to her husband she was given the title of the Empress of Austria and later on June 8, 1867, she was crowned the Queen of Hungary.
The Duchess have birth to four children, three daughters, and a son. As per Tatler, the first daughter named Sophie was born in 1855 but sadly died when she was an infant. She then was pregnant and gave birth to her second daughter Gisela.
Her son was the third child and was named Rudolf. Her son did not live very much and died at the age of 30 after he and his mistress committed suicide in 1889. Her mother-in-law was extremely involved in her the life of her grandchildren and mostly took care of them. Sisi and her mother-in-law did not have a good relationship and were rather on rocky terms with each other.
The wife of Franz was stabbed to death when she was traveling to Switzerland by Luigi Lucheni an Italian anarchist. According to Britannica, on September 10, 1898, she passed away shortly after she was attacked by an anarchist when she was 60 years old.
Where Is The Empress Set?
Most of the parts of The Empress were set in Vienna which was the capital of Austria.
As the Duchess was married at a young age to the Empress of Austria, most of the parts from 1854 to 1898 were located in the city of Vienna, Austria as she and her husband lived there after her marriage in the Schonbrunn Palace.
According to Decider, it was also set in Bavaria which is the largest state in Germany. She was born in Germany in 1837 and lived there until she married. She lived in her hometown for sixteen years of her life. The entire filming of the series The Empress is done in Germany. It was not done in historical places but was entirely based on various locations in Germany. The Schonbrunn Palace in Austria was actually filmed in the upper Franconian district in the village of Pommersfelden of Bamberg in Weissenstein Castle.
The other locations where the drama was filmed are New Palace and the Hermitage Palace. The New Palace also known as Neues Schloss is located on the east side of the Bayreuth center. The palace building was filled with rooms on the northern side and it now has a collection of pottery and the southern side is dedicated to the museum.
The Hermitage Palace was built in 1715 near the town of Bayreuth as the main feature. It was also known as Old Palace and it is covered with an extensive park with slopes covered with trees. The palace was extended and enlarged in 1735 and new rooms such as music rooms were added.
Another location where the series was filmed is Fantaisie Palace. The palace is located in Eckersdorf, Germany. The palace is one of the first garden museums in the country with various attractive items. There is a special park in the palace that has original designs from Rococo.
Friesenhausen Palace in Aidhausen is also one of the palaces where it was filmed. The castle has a quiet location by the edge of the lake and is filled with a large hectare park. The palace has original rooms as well as interiors. Faber-Castell Palace is located in Stein, Germany about six kilometers away from the Nuremberg main square in the suburb town. The building is made in the Neo-Renaissance style. It belonged to a noble family that went back to the XIX century.
Cathedral Square is also a place where The Empress was filmed. It is one of the largest and main squares located in Bamberg, Germany. The square is filled with pedestrians inclined with stones that are paved in the area. Saint George Minster located in Dinkelsbuhl is also another location where the series was made. It is a church made in the Gothic style in the late 15th century.
Sissi The Empress True Story on Netflix
The series released on September 29, 2022, on Netflix is based on the real-life story of Empress Elisabeth.
Elisabeth von Wittlesbach was nickanmed as Sissi when she was young. The start of the show happens as the life of the Duchess when she was sixteen years old and the disspaoiment she feels when she has to move to Vienna after her marriage with Franz is shown.
Sissi was never meant to be an Empress and with the unexpected course of her husband falling in love with her instead of her sister let her life change direction as she moves to Austria. Her romantic life with her husband is also explored throughout the episodes as their romance is not perfect but it is surely evident. Throughout the drama series, her husband struggles with the tension and conflict that is happening between Russia and Austria. As well as his own brother trying to undermine him and attempt to overtake the throne.
The series pays immense respect to the memory of Elizabeth and Franz. It is an addicting series with dramas based on the historical period. In the show, there is a subtle tension about what will happen next with all the things happening. It is available to watch on Netflix in its original language German with subtitles as well as in dubbed form in English. The second season of the show has been confirmed by Netflix but the date of its release has not been revealed.