Kaiservilla

About the museum

After the engagement of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth in Bad Ischl, Archduchess Sophie acquired a manor house in 1853 at the foot of Jainzen and the surrounding grounds in the following year as a wedding gift for the young couple. The old building was preserved as the central tract and was expanded into a summer residence through side wings and outbuildings. At the same time, court gardener Franz Rauch laid out the park in English landscape style; in the following years the cottage – today the Marble Pavilion – a mirror pleasure house and a gloria added, in 1881 the marble fountain by Viktor Tilgner in front of the building.

The villa was a private retreat for the imperial family away from Vienna court ceremony. After Elisabeth's death in 1898, Franz Joseph sought peace here, but also received statesmen; in 1914 he signed the declaration of war against Serbia here, which led to World War I.

The emperor himself allowed visitors into the villa when he was not present. His descendants continue this tradition: the house with its largely unchanged rooms can be viewed as part of guided tours, operated by the Kaiservilla GmbH of the Habsburg-Lothringen family. The imperial park has been open to the public since the end of World War I; in the Marble Pavilion, Elisabeth's favorite place, the Upper Austrian Regional Museum presents an annually changing exhibition.

Highlights

• Rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph originally furnished with work and living spaces
• Memories of Empress Elisabeth (Sisi)
• Imperial park in English landscape style with gloria and mirror pleasure house
• Marble fountain by Viktor Tilgner (1881)
• Marble Pavilion, the empress's favorite place

Permanent exhibitions

• Kaiservilla – Guided tour through the private residential and representational rooms of the imperial family, which are largely preserved in the state around 1900.
• Kaiserpark – Landscape garden from the 1850s with meadows, groups of trees, gloria, mirror pleasure house and the Marble Pavilion.

Founded

1860

Operated by

Kaiservilla GmbH

Admission & discounts

2026 prices (valid 7.1.2026–6.1.2027), admission to the villa includes guided tour and park. With the Salzkammergut Experience Card Park with Villa 21.50 €, children 9 €, family 44 €; with the SalzburgerLand Card Park free, Villa 17.30 €. Discounts not combinable.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The villa is not fully accessible for architectural-historical reasons. For groups, special tours on the ground floor are possible on request, also with access directly to the house. The toilets are not wheelchair-accessible; the steeply rising park is only partially navigable.

Kids & families

• Stroller-friendly: not available

Strollers cannot be taken into the tour because of stairs; there is a parking area in the entrance area.

Getting there & parking

For navigation devices, the Kaiservilla recommends the address Götzstraße 1 (Jainzen 38 sometimes leads to the wrong valley). Bicycle parking lot at the park entrance opposite the cashier; cycling is not allowed in the park.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Hausbrandt Café in front of the villa with a view into the park (early May to end of September daily); souvenir shop with books and the 'Sisi Star'.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit