On 24 December 1837 a little girl was born who was nicknamed Sisi and who later became Elisabeth of Austria. She was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, and many other titles by marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I. You can read up more about her on Wikipedia (or here in German) but most Germans know about her via three films from the 1950s.
Just in time for her birthday they are shown every year around Christmas (this year on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & Boxing Day) with Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm in the leading roles.
Thanks to YouTube you can also watch the three film (but please let me know if they have disappeared as I can’t guarantee that they’ll still be there in time), even if you’re not in Germany.
Sissi (1953)
Sissi, die junge Kaiserin (1956)
Sissi, Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin (1957)
Isn’t this a perfect way to watch some classics and to learn some German over Christmas?
EDIT 2022: If you have Netflix you can also watch a new version of Sissi (currently only one season). It’s called The Empress (in German Die Kaiserin) and you can watch it in German or English.
Very interesting. I love history and enjoyed reading your blog today
Thank you Sally. I also love history … and old films!