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21 July 2024
Fashion.at travelog: Empress Elisabeth's bachelorette dress with Arabic lettering is one of the highlights of the Imperial Weddings exhibition at Prince Eugen's former hunting lodge, Schloss Niederweiden
Fashion.at is an annual visitor to Schloss Hof and Schloss Niederweiden in Lower Austria. Both baroque palaces have a long history with prominent owners such as Prince Eugen and Maria Theresia of Austria (mother of Marie Antoinette). Today, they are part of the Schönbrunn Group of estates, named after the largest and most profitable. Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, a magnificent building in the style of Versailles, is a tourist magnet. Schloss Niederweiden, Prince Eugen's hunting lodge, is almost down-to-earth compared to the prominent palace in Vienna. Niederweiden is not overrun by tourists. It's a gem known to connoisseurs, especially those interested in relatively well-curated historical exhibitions of artifacts that showcase examples of fashion taste & craft, such as couture treasures, and design, like cutlery.
In 'Imperial Weddings', objects related to the history of fashion and design are accompanied by archival material, such as documents relating to the food expenses of the imperial society on their travels to and from wedding events. These journeys in horse-drawn carriages were made over days with several stops. From one of these stops, the 'Imperial Weddings' exhibition at Schloss Niederweiden (which, by the way, is about 45 minutes from Vienna) has a document that shows not only what fish and meat was consumed by the aristocracy, including otter, which was once considered a fish, but also how expensive such trips with a large entourage were.
The most beautiful object in the exhibition for fashionistas is undoubtedly the 'Polterabend' gown worn by the future Empress Elisabeth to a ball on her last evening in Munich before leaving Bavaria for her wedding in Vienna. The white and green crinoline dress on display, with floral detailing and a plethora of ruffles curling like numerous waves along the gown and train, is not the original, which is kept in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Both the skirt and the stole have a loop of Arabic writing that reads "Oh my Lord, what a beautiful dream". (More details about the dress and pictures can be found at https://www.sisimuseum-hofburg.at/en/about-the-location/sisi-museum/rooms/at-court.)
Fashion.at came across several brochures advertising Schloss Niederweiden as a venue for events such as weddings, before leaving the castle to relax in the garden on one of the loungers under an old lime tree. A nice place to let your soul dangle, or as the Austrians say, "um die Seele baumeln zu lassen".
Images: The left picture shows Fashion.at publisher Karin Sawetz in front of the main entrance of Schloss Niederweiden on the occasion of a visit to the exhibition 'Imperial Weddings'. The picture on the right shows a view of the palace from the park and parts of a lime tree.
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