From Sisi to Queen Elizabeth
Exhibition | accessibility.time_to
Although Switzerland has no royal tradition, royal families have long held a certain fascination for the Swiss; not least because they brought pomp and splendour to the country and celebrated their power there. Many crowned heads of state have visited Switzerland since the 19th century. For example, King Ludwig II of Bavaria was so taken by the William Tell story that he travelled to Lake Lucerne in 1865 and wanted to buy the Rütli meadow so he could build a castle on it. Then there was Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the great Napoleon I and subsequently Emperor of the French, who spent a lot of his childhood at Arenenberg Castle after his family went into exile. Charles-Louis spoke with a proper Thurgau accent and attended military school in Thun. The fate of Sisi, Empress of Austria, is among the best known and most poignant experiences of a royal in Switzerland. She often visited the country for rest and recuperation, and was murdered in Geneva in 1898. All royal visits, whether by an emperor, empress, king, queen, prince or princess, and for whatever reason, whether politics, business or personal, had one thing in common: they triggered – both then and now – immense excitement and fascination among the Swiss public. The exhibition demonstrates this through many pictures and exclusive possessions of these bluebloods.
The exhibition will be on display in an adapted form at the Château de Prangins from 19 March to 10 October 2027.
Guided tour of the exhibition "Visiting Royals – From Sisi to Queen Elizabeth".
Tour: 1 hour
Guided tours can be arranged outside opening hours: Mon between 9.30 am and 6 pm, Tue to Fri between 9.30 am and 7.45 pm. Sat and Sun between 10 am and 5 pm
| Registration: |
2 weeks in advance |
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Duration: |
60 minutes; special packages can be offered on request |
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Group size: |
max. 15 participants per tour |
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Languages: |
English, German, Italian, French. Other offers upon request. |
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Cost: |
CHF 180 for the guided tour + CHF 10 admission per person Children up to 16 years free. For groups of people with permit N, S, B, F (refugee) or F (foreigner), the guided tour and admission are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
Guided tour of the exhibition «Visiting Royals – From Sisi to Queen Elizabeth».
1 hour
Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
Guided tours in English can be arranged, even outside opening hours. Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.
| Booking: |
at least 2 weeks in advance |
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Duration: |
1 hour guided tours, other services by prior arrangement |
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Group size: |
max. 25 people |
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Cost: |
Guided tours for school classes from Switzerland are free of charge. |
openinghours.days.long.monday Open till openinghours.days.long.friday openinghours.openfromto.long
They reigned over kingdoms, were defining figures of their respective epochs – and had a penchant for visiting Switzerland. A new exhibition at the National Museum Zurich opens a fascinating window into the close, often surprising relationship between Switzerland and foreign monarchs. It demonstrates how royalty used Switzerland as a retreat, a stage and a negotiation venue – and how the public responded with amazement, enthusiasm and cynicism.
Sovereign heads of state left a lasting impression on Switzerland despite the country having no royal tradition of its own. Many monarchs have come to the Confederation since the 19th century: for recuperation, exile or on diplomatic visits. The exhibition looks at why democratic Switzerland cultivated such a deep connection with the monarchy. With surprising anecdotes plus photographs, written documents and some personal items belonging to the royals, the exhibition brings to life the chequered relationship between Switzerland and the European monarchies.
Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, known as Sisi, was a frequent visitor to Switzerland – always searching for peace and nature far away from the royal court. She was very well known and her efforts to travel incognito were not always successful. In fact, her last visit had a tragic ending: she was murdered by Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni in Geneva on 10 September 1898. The crime shook Switzerland – church bells rang and thousands lined the cross-country funeral procession, including five federal councillors. One of the objects on display in the exhibition is the file used to stab Sisi. The canton of Geneva gifted it to the University of Vienna in 1965 – 60 years later and it is now back in Switzerland for the first time.
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was also fascinated by Switzerland, especially the Rütli, the symbolic birthplace of Swiss democracy. In 1865 and 1881, he travelled to Lake Lucerne under a pseudonym and dreamt of building a castle on Rütli meadow. Switzerland was a place onto which he projected his political and romantic yearnings – dreams destined to remain unfulfilled.
Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie had more specific aims when he visited Switzerland in 1954. Over 100,000 people came out to see him in Bern. Unlike other monarchs, Haile Selassie was not interested in the mountains during his trip. He wanted to see the modern, industrial Switzerland. He saw Switzerland as a potential trading partner, as a major modernisation drive was to make Ethiopia Africa’s most progressive country. Haile Selassie also had other business in mind: he visited Zurich arms producer Emil Bührle, who was to supply him with weapons despite an export ban in place at the time. The exhibition shows a lion hair from the Ethiopian Emperor’s hat, discreetly plucked by a Swiss military officer as a souvenir.
The exhibition will also run from 19 March to 10 October 2027 in an adapted format at the Château de Prangins.
