Elba 2014

Elba Bicentenario - 100 photos from 2-8 May, 2014

François Napoléon

Ajaccio, monument to the Roi de Rome

 Today is the 203 birthday of Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte, at his birth given the title of the King of Rome, but for most of his short life, since 1818, known as the Duke of Reichstadt. The only son of Napoleon and Marie-Louise Habsburg, and the Emperor's only legitimate child, he lived three happy years in France, adored by his father (he later claimed he remembered that period), but in 1814 he left France and never saw it again, even though formally he had been the emperor Napoleon II for a short time.

A. Menjaud, 1812 (Fontainebleau)

 His birth was announced by 101 cannon fires but he lived most of his life in what effectually was a prison, or a golden cage. By the decision of the Congress of Vienna he remained with his Austrian family, while the French one was kept away from him: he never met any of his numerous uncles, aunts or cousins, because the European powers feared that he could threaten the reactionist peace that had been achieved by the Congress.

He left Schoenbrunn only on a small number of occassions, never on his own, and ravelled as far as Pressburg (today's Bratislava, ca. 70 km from Vienna) and Graz (hardly 200 km from Vienna), even though he dreamed of visiting Italy, where his mother lived in her Duchy of Parma, estranged from both her exiled husband and her unhappy son.

Fontainebleau

He received thorough education, even though the main objective of his teachers was to eradicate the French part of his heritage, and despite the fact that for most of his life he refused to learn - to spite the Austrians. He became an avid reader and student once eventually at the age of 20 he was pronounced adult. He neglected his fragile health, and nobody cared enough to look for the true reasons for its deterioration.

He died aged 21, lonely in a room full of people, and judging by the documents, convinced that his life had been worthless. And yet all the documents that we possess, which are not numerous and a weird selection (many apparently had been destroyed after his death), give testimony to the phrase that was allegedly coined by one of his doctors: "a soul of iron in a body of crystal".

Had he been allowed to ascend the throne, history of 19th century Europe would have for certain been different. But there was no place for his revolutionary brilliant mind in the Europe lulled into conservatism by the Holy Alliance. Gossip that he was poisoned has not died until now.

Edmond Rostand's drama L'Aiglon, focused on the last years of his life, is one of the masterpieces of French literature of the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, and the famous Sarah Bernhardt starred in its premiere in the lead role, which became one of the hallmarks of her career.

A small number of places in France and Austria are witnesses to his short and sad life. In Vienna one can see his famous cradle designed by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, kept now in the Kaiserliche Schatzkammer.

Kaiserliche Schatzkammer

Only some eight underground stations away from there, in the Schoenbrunn palace, the longer route takes the visitors to the room where he died (and where, by the irony of fates, his father lived in 1809, after the capture of Vienna). Among the morbid memorabilia in Schoenbrunn is the stuffed favourite pet bird of the prince.

A lovely selection of items from his happy years in France, and also some memorabilia from the later years can be seen in the Napoleonic museum in the palace of Fontainebleau; in the palace of Compiègne one can see a room where he used to live and a beautiful Egyptian revival clock that belonged to him; also in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris a couple of objects can be found. 

 

The Louvre possesses a beautiful painting of the little King of Rome, and in Ajaccio in Corsica his only monument stand in front of the hourse where his father had been born. 

He was originally buried partly in the Capucin crypt in Vienna, with all the Habsburgs, and partly in the cathedral in Vienna, but his remains were brought to Paris in 1940 (noteworthy, though, Rostand's play was forbidden under the Vichy government), and now they repose in the Dome des Invalides, in a side crypt of the main chapel with his father's sarcophagus.

Les Invalides

Schloss Friedrichstein, Bad Wildungen

Jerôme Bonaparte (1784-1860), Napoleon's youngest brother, was the king of Westphalia in the years 1807-13, and although in later Germany he was known under the slightly disdainful and condescending nickname of "König Lustik" (the Merry King), because of his numerous love affairs and luxurious lifestyle, he was in fact - and despite his young age - a ruler who treated his kingdom and his subject very seriously. Among his achievements, allowed by the introduction of modern constitution (the first in the German states) are the abolition of serfdom and socage, as well as the emancipation of the Jews; under his rule the kingdom (constructed out of a number of small German states, mostly Hessen) lived through a period of cultural prosperity.

Today's Hessen maybe does not celebrate the short French rule overenthusiastically, but King Jerôme together with his family is present in several local museums, out of which the collection of portraits and memorabilia kept in the Friedrichstein castle near the resort town of Bad Wildungen is the largest.

The Schloss, whose history dates to the Middle Ages, but the main architectural shape is mostly 17th century (with the exception of a 16th century tower), hosts the Hunting Quarters and Hessian Military History museum (Militär- und Jagdgeschichtemuseum, being part of the consortium of Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel), which is focused in the first place on local history (long galleries of portraits of local dukes and commanders; a fine collection of arms and uniforms from the early Modern Age to the end of the 19th century; a small section devoted to hunting traditions - despite the warning about stuffed animals on exposition, there are actually none of these).

Five small rooms on the first floor are devoted to the Kingdom of Westphalia, and they are easy to miss, since they are on a lower level, and accessed by relatively narrow stairs going off the equally narrow corridor (some more portraits) at the end of the visit to this floor. The stairs are to the left if you visit the floor clockwise; if you choose the short way, ignoring the gallery of Fürsts, then go to the left on the landing and the stairs will be on your right.

The first in the suite of rooms hosts the statue of Napoleon in the garb of a Roman emperor; the monument was partly destroyed after the kingdom of Westphalia was dismantled by the Congress of Vienna, which adds to its "ancient" look (for instance part of one of the legs is missing, as in so many ancient statues). There are also two famous painted portraits of Jerôme himself: one on horseback and the other in coronation robes. Two showcases contain military memorabilia.

In the remaining rooms, to the left and at the back of the first one, are the portraits of Joseph and Louis Bonaparte, more military memorabilia, including the uniforms designed by Jerôme for the local regiments, biscuit porcelain busts of Jerôme and his second wife, Catherine of Württenberg, her portrait (which is a short course in how not to dress if you could be Rubens' model), and several more paintings and engravings. Among the most interesting portraits one shows very young Jerôme with his eldest sister Elisa; the siblings are portrayed with the bust of Napoleon in the background, and Elisa is holding a sheet of paper and a quill to emphasize her intellectual attitude. The other painting shows Jerôme's first wife, the American Elizabeth Patterson, with her son, apparently some time after her rather unfortunate arrival to Europe (her marriage was dissolved by the Emperor who had more grandiose plans for his youngest brother).

From the courtyard of the castle splendid views over the surrounding Kellerwald-Edersee National Park; the picturesque views of the castle itself can be admired from the hills facing it from the south-east, in the direction of Homberg.

Practical information

Address: Bad Wildungen, Castle Friedrichstein, Schlossstraße

GPS data: 

Opening hours

The official website gives the times for Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., but this varies in winter time (dates not specified), when the castle is open only from Friday to Sunday in the same hours. It is also closed on 24, 25 and 31 of December.

The shop offers a small selection of books and souvenirs, but it does not accept credit or debit cards. Most of the books, but not the souvenirs, can be purchased in the main museum shop in Kassel where card payments are accepted.

Tickets: EUR 3 (concession EUR 2, student concession only for the University of Kassel). Photography is allowed with the fee of EUR 5.

The staff will firmly persuade you to follow the direction of visit but they are otherwise nice and friendly. They do not seem to speak any other language but German, though.

Easy access from Kassel and motorway Dortmund-Kassel (ca. 35 km, less than one hour leisure drive), greater distance from other motorways (up to 90 km drive on very good but winding and slow local roads).

The resort town of Bad Wildungen and nearby communities offer a range of reasonably priced accommodation (from ca. EUR 55 for double room), but restaurants are not numerous and some of them do not open until 6 or 7 p.m. Kaiser Wilhelm on the main street (Brunnenallee) serves some traditional German dishes and plays Heimatmusik mixed with vintage disco hits.

Phone:		+49 (5621) 6577
Fax:		+49 (5621) 9690700

Official website in English