THE EMPRESS SISSI IN MERAN
A noble visitor from the Viennese court
Merano’s greatest stimulus as a health resort was probably due to the stay, for health reasons, of Marie Valerie, the two-and-a-half-year old daughter of the Emperor Francis Joseph. Empress Elisabeth of Austria also travelled there, accompanied by her 102-strong imperial household. In 1870/71 the princess spent nine months in Merano recuperating from lung illness, subsequently returning strengthened to Vienna. After that time the Empress made repeated visits to Meran. The Emperor Francis Joseph and Crown Prince Rudolph also visited several times, thereby “ennobling” Merano as a health resort.