Empress Elisabeth hated spending time in Vienna. To make the city more attractive, Emperor Franz Joseph built her a secluded “Palace of Dreams” in the Lainzer Tiergarten , presenting it as a gift to his wife in 1886. The building owes its name to a statue, "Hermes as Guardian," in its garden.
An exhibition on the history of the house shows how the royal couple lived: photos, plans, documents, original furniture, and, above all, many personal items convey a sense of home away from courtly representation.
Highlights include the empress's bedroom, furnished with a magnificent bed from the time of Maria Theresa and wall paintings based on designs by Hans Makart. Also on view: the magnificent gym, where the body-conscious Sisi undertook her daily exercises.
