Missing for 107 Years: Empress Sisi‘s Jewel Collection Found, Sparks Dispute with Austria
VIENNA – A hidden trove ofโ jewels โbelonging to Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known asโ Sisi, has โขbeen discovered after being concealed for 107 years, igniting a potential legal battle between the habsburg family and the Austrian government. The collection,amassedโ by the Empress and her family,was located and its existence confirmedโ recently,promptingโ plans for a public exhibition in Canada. However,โข Austria is now asserting โฃpotential claims toโ the diamondsโ and other precious stones.
The Habsburg family revealed intentions toโค display the โขcollectionโ in Canada “quickly,” citing a “cultural-past responsibility” to share the artifacts with the public, according to family head Karl Habsburg. This move comes as theโ 100th anniversary of the death of Emperor Karl โฃI, Sisi’s son-in-law, approaches – a date โthe Empress herself stipulated โshould mark the earliest possible time for the jewels’ unveiling.But Austria’s โค1919โข Habsburg Law, which allows for near-total confiscation of the โfamily’s assets by the republic, complicates those plans.
The jewels were hiddenโค following theโ fall of the austro-Hungarian Empireโ in 1918, and their location remained a closelyโ guardedโฃ secret. โEmpress Sisi reportedly mandated the jewels remain โconcealed until โat least a century after the death of her son-in-law,โฃ Karl I, who died in 1922.
Now, Austrian Vice-Chancellor Andreas Babler of the SPร partyโข has directed a review to determine โคwhetherโ the Republic has a legal claim to โthe rediscovered diamonds, according to reports in the Kronen Zeitung. The outcome of this legal assessment could determine whetherโ the โHabsburgs are permitted to exhibit the โฃcollection โabroad or if the jewels willโ remain within Austria’s borders.The dispute centers on the interpretation of the 1919 Habsburg โLaw and itsโค applicabilityโค to assetsโฃ concealed prior to its โenactment.