“Sissi” Mural

The Sissi fresco, in Budapest

The Sissi fresco of Budapest celebrates Elisabeth of Austria, the nonconformist empress who devoted a particular love to Hungary and remains deeply loved there. The Budapest audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this mural work dedicated to the sovereign nicknamed 'the seagull of the seas', whose aura continues to float over the city, that also gave her the name of a bridge and a boulevard.

The empress who loved Hungary

Bavarian by origin, then Austrian by her marriage, Elisabeth of Austria, or Sissi for the most intimate, liked to be everywhere at once, except near her court in Vienna. Greece, France, Portugal: such were the distant Mediterranean stays where the one who nicknamed herself the seagull of the seas took refuge, recharged and rested. Now, among the lands of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire, that she often treated with indifference, remained a place that Sissi loved particularly and whose cause she proudly defended: Hungary. And the local population returned it well. Admiration, acclamations, the castle of Gödöllő offered as a gift: nothing was too beautiful for their favourite sovereign, who learned Hungarian and supported the autonomy of the country. Nowadays, the aura of this nonconformist empress continues to float over Budapest. Her name is attached to a bridge, the Elisabeth bridge, but also to a boulevard. As for her incredible beauty, to which she devoted an obsessive cult and an extreme rigour, it is immortalised in statue or in fresco, like the one you discover here. This colourful mural work, a testimony of the lasting affection of the Hungarians for Sissi, adds a romantic and artistic touch to the walk. A romantic fresco and a tribute to an empress, the Sissi fresco is a fine stop of the discovery of Budapest.

What to see

Here you discover a colourful mural fresco dedicated to Elisabeth of Austria, the empress Sissi, who devoted a particular love to Hungary and remains deeply loved there; nicknamed the seagull of the seas, she learned Hungarian, supported the autonomy of the country and received the castle of Gödöllő, and her name is still attached to a bridge and a boulevard of Budapest. The Sissi fresco is a romantic tribute of Budapest. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Sissi fresco is discovered in the centre of Budapest, on a wall of the city, reachable on foot. It is a work in free access in the public space, to be admired during a walk. You discover it by raising your eyes towards the façades.

Why is Sissi so loved in Budapest?

Because, among the lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the empress Elisabeth of Austria loved Hungary particularly and proudly defended its cause, going so far as to learn Hungarian and support its autonomy; the population returned it to her with boundless admiration, and her aura still floats over the city, that dedicated to her a bridge, a boulevard, statues and this fresco.

Where is the Sissi fresco in Budapest?

In the centre of Budapest, on a wall of the city, in Hungary.