Austria 2022

Solid Relations In Turbulent Times

Relations between Serbia and Austria are on the rise and this trend is expected to continue. Expanded collaboration in many fields, as well as Austria’s stance that the European integration of the countries of the region is of essential and geostrategic importance to the EU, make our mutual ties even stronger

Austria and Serbia enjoy excellent bilateral rela tions, yet both countries are exerting every possible effort to further deepen their politi cal, cultural, business and commer cial relations. Furthermore, Austria continuously supports Serbia on its path to EU accession. Austrian dip lomats often note that Serbia is one of Austria’s most important partners in the region, which is also reflected in its foreign policy even during these times when the political landscape is complex and Serbia’s EU acces sion seems to be going through par ticularly challenging times. Austria remains firm in its stance that the European integration of the coun tries of the region is of essential and geostrategic importance to the EU.

As it was recently put by Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schal lenberg, Austria’s proposal is that the EU starts to behave step-by-step towards the countries of the Western Balkans as if they were already mem ber states, adding that this proposal has nothing to do with Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but rather the need for the EU accession process to already show concrete results.

Apart from EU-related topics, the two countries have been collaborat ing successfully in the combatting of human trafficking and managing migration, but also on many other topics that demand cooperation on a daily basis, spanning from police and judicial affairs, via the environ ment, agriculture and education, to economic matters, of course.

The improvement of economic co operation between the two countries is in the focus of both partners. New sectors are opening up for cooperation, such as the infrastructure sector, i.e., transport networks, logistics, energy transition and industrial construction, as well as IT.

Although there are increasing global economic challenges, such as disruptions to value chains, the energy crisis, inflation and possible reces sions across the EU, trade relations between Serbia and Austria, as well as the inflow of Austrian investments,

so far remain steady, making Austria one of Serbia’s top three partners. Indeed, in 2021, economic and trade exchange between the two countries stood at €1.36 billion, representing growth of 36 per cent over the past four years. Austria is among the three largest foreign investors in Serbia and Austrian companies show constant interest in increasing their investments in the country.

The field of dual education has been a particularly important part of this cooperation for several years. Serbia has proven to be the most successful country in the region when it comes to introducing a dual education system that offers young people unhindered access to the Serbian labour market and attracts Austrian and other foreign companies. This cooperation is now set to be further improved, with the short age of qualified labour hampering the further growth of the economy.

The Serbian diaspora in Austria, as well as Serbian students studying in Austria, also help to establish and reinforce links between the two nations

Serving In The Balkans Is A Dream Job

Noting that Serbia is at the centre of Austrian foreign policy, as one of its most im portant Balkan partners, Vienna’s new ambassador to Serbia says that coming to Belgrade is “a dream come true for any Austrian diplomat”. Ambassador Ebner says that his aim is to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, and to do so in new fields like transport networks, logistics, energy transition etc. CorD’s interlocutor is convinced that Serbia’s future is in the EU, because – in terms

of citizens’ connectedness with the EU and economic cooperation – “Serbia has already been a member of our European political community for a long time”.

Your excellency, what will be the key objectives of your term as ambassador to Serbia?

As Austrian ambassador, I will work to further deepen our bilateral friend ship, improving our already excellent business and commercial relations and wholeheartedly supporting Serbia’s path towards the EU.

You arrived in Serbia from Madrid. However, given that you were an adviser to Sebastian Kurz, who devel oped close relations with the Serbian government - initially in his role as foreign minister and subsequently as chancellor, it could be said that you are very well acquainted with the situation in Serbia.

It is true that Serbia is one of the most important partners of Austria in the region and is situated at the very heart of our foreign policy. So, every Austrian diplomat will always

I am convinced that Serbia will be a member of the European Union, which is our common goal. To re alise this goal, we - both the EU and Serbia - need to show our full commitment ~ Christian Ebner

EU

I am convinced that Serbia will be a member of the European Union, which is our common goal

follow its development, challenges and successes very closely. I very much remember how we were celebrating 21st January 2014, the first meeting of the Accession Conference with Serbia at the ministerial level, opening the accession negotiations.

You noted when submitting your diplomatic credentials to the Presi dent of Serbia that you will work to improve economic cooperation be tween our two countries. In which areas do you see the greatest poten tial for advancement?

The need for modernisation of the infrastructure sector, i.e., transport networks, logistics, energy transition and industrial construction, offers new opportunities for Austrian companies.

SANCTIONS

I consider it essential for Serbia to leave absolutely no doubt about its full rejection of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which is causing human suffering and destruction

Austria is among Serbia´s most important economic partners. Do you think that the economic difficulties

CONFLICT CONTAINMENT

We have to be careful and will work together to ensure the danger of the conflict spreading doesn’t materialise

two recent crises: the COVID-19 pan demic and the Russian war of aggres sion against Ukraine. Border closures, disrupted supply chains and energy shortages create challenges, but also offer new possibilities if we are creative and open to new partnerships.

resulting from the war in Ukraine could have an impact at the level of cooperation between our two countries?

We all have to adapt to the new eco nomic challenges we are facing due to

The recent trilateral summit of Austria, Hungary and Serbia in cluded discussions of joint efforts to combat crime and human traf ficking. Dramatic warnings are emerging from the Austrian side with regard to the growing number of asylum seekers in the country. What specifically is expected from Serbia in that context?

The situation is really dramatic and we need to address this challenge to

As Austrian ambassador, I will work to further deepen our bilateral friendship, improving our already excellent business and commercial relations and wholeheartedly supporting Serbia’s path towards the EU

gether. Austria appreciates Serbia’s cooperation in combatting human traf ficking along its borders, but also by aligning its visa regime to EU stand ards. We will increase our police coop eration with Serbia and our support for a modern border management. We need to act jointly to be successful.

You emphasise Austria’s unwa vering support for Serbia’s EU in tegration, while many people here are disappointed over the slowness of the accession process. What do you consider more realistic: that Serbia will become a member of the EU; or that it will be a partner in the “European political community”, which is the new proposal?

I am convinced that Serbia will be a member of the European Union, which is our common goal. In order to achieve this goal, we need to show our full com mitment, as both the EU and Serbia. I see how important the economic outreach of the EU in Serbia is and how intense people-to-people contacts have grown. So, in that sense Serbia, has already

been a member of our European political community for a long time.

Do you consider it essential for Serbia to impose sanctions against Russia if it wants to remain on the road to EU accession?

I consider it essential for Serbia to leave absolutely no doubt about its full

sanctions. I cannot imagine Serbia not sharing these values.

Some analytical reports on the Western Balkans include the thesis that this region of Europe could be come the next crisis hotspot, as a kind of extension of the existing conflicts between the West and Russia. Do you believe such a danger exists?

We have to be careful and will work together to ensure this danger doesn’t materialise.

Media reports suggest that you were initially scheduled to become Austria’s ambassador to Germany, only for it to be subsequently decided that you would come to Belgrade. Will serving in the Balkans prove to be an easier or tougher job for a diplomat?

rejection of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which is causing hu man suffering and destruction. This is contrary to our values and convictions and what the EU stands for. Therefore,

Serving in the Balkans, especially as ambassador in Belgrade, is a dream come true for any Austrian diplomat. My family and I feel very welcome here, although the most difficult decision we as a family have to make is still outstanding: should we go for Red Star or Partizan.

Austria appreciates Serbia’s cooperation in combatting human trafficking along its borders, but also by aligning its visa regime to EU standards. We will increase our police cooperation with Serbia and our support for a modern border management

Dual Education Needs A Makeover

With direct investments totalling 2.83 billion euros, Austria is among the top foreign investor countries in Serbia. For Austrian companies, the availability of a qualified workforce is an important and decisive factor when it comes to choosing where to base new hubs for foreign operations, which is why continuous support for dual education is a focal point of the work of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA

It is my pleasure that, at the start of September, after seven years as commercial counsellor of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary, I have also taken on the same function for Serbia, North Mac edonia and Montenegro - says Jürgen

Schreder, Commercial Counsellor at ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, speaking at the beginning of our interview. He adds that, just like his predecessors, he would also like to contribute to further developing the already ex cellent economic relations between

Serbia and Austria, in order for this extremely successful cooperation to continue.

When it comes to foreign trade ex change and FDI volume statistics for Serbia, Austria ranks among the top three countries. Austrian companies

COOPERATION

I would like to contribute to further developing the already excellent economic relations between Serbia and Austria, in order for this extremely successful cooperation to continue

also occupy a particularly strong posi tion in Serbia’s service sector.

Schreder says it’s very important for him to continue bilateral cooperation in the area of dual education.

O ver the course of the past six years, thanks in part to Austrian support, Serbia has introduced an already very successful dual educa tion system, and thereby developed a crucial instrument in offering young people a pathway to the Serbian labour market.

Some 14 professional profiles have been developed within the scope of this project, including commercial trader

For Austrian investors in Serbia, it is equally of central importance that the workforce be shaped according to the dual model, thus securing a constant number of professional workers, on the one hand, while, on the other, enabling young people in Serbia to have better prospects for a future in their homeland

and freight forwarder, which served as models to shape many other edu cational profiles. During the 2022/23 academic year, approximately 70 educational profiles will be available at around 150 Serbian schools. More than 8,000 schoolchildren have already received opportunities to engage in dual education, including at least 200 individuals representing disad vantaged sections of the population.

With state-approved education and learning through both work placements within companies and at schools, they are prepared to launch a successful professional career. The project simul taneously provides Serbian companies

FOCUS

We are currently working on the introduction of new educational profiles that the economy requires urgently and that will provide young people with attractive occupations in their home country

SUPPORT

We want to continue providing capacity building support to the relevant institutions in Serbia, in order to provide the best possible conditions to institutions for dual education

with an opportunity to secure qualified workers tailored to their needs.

Why is the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO / ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA) included in introduc ing dual education to Serbia?

the availability of qualified labour is an important factor when deciding on a new location for doing business abroad.

Professional work-based training is among the most sought-after qualifi cations among companies in Austria, which is why companies invest a lot

With direct investments amounting to 2.83 billion euros, Austria is one of the largest foreign investors in Serbia. These investments have also provided jobs for around 22,000 people.

Serbia is very highly valued as a busi ness partner. For Austrian companies,

in professional training to prepare their future professional personnel.

For Austrian investors in Serbia, it is equally of central importance that the workforce be shaped accord ing to the dual model, thus securing a constant number of professional

workers, on the one hand, while, on the other, enabling young people in Serbia to have better prospects for a future in their homeland.

How can ADVANTAGE AUS TRIA support Serbian partners? What is the Austrian Chamber’s role in this cooperation?

Education systems cannot, and must not, be simply copied. Our Ser bian partners are moulding their own Serbian model of dual education in an impressive way.

We (ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA), as the institution responsible for imple menting the entire administration of dual secondary-vocational education in Austria, and which simultaneously also has a significant influence over the development of new educational profiles, are happy to make our kno whow and experience available to our partners in Serbia.

Our objective is quite clear: to bring to life the legal framework that has

When it comes to foreign trade exchange and FDI volume statistics for Serbia, Austria ranks among the top three countries. Austrian companies also occupy a particularly strong position in Serbia’s service sector

now been created, but also to draw on the experience of what we’ve learned and improve the conditions of the framework. This implies the continuation of capacity building support to the relevant institutions in Serbia, in order to provide the best possible conditions to institutions for dual education.

We are currently working on the in troduction of new educational profiles that the economy requires urgently and that will provide young people with attractive occupations in their home country (e.g., plastics processor).

What topics will you engage in during the period ahead?

ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA will con tinue to engage in ways that benefit the economy. Dual education must be made even more attractive, both for companies and schoolchildren. It is essential to improve the pro fessional skills of schoolchildren in order for them to be visible on the labour market. We will continue advocating for dual education to be as attractive as possible for everyone involved.

Chambers of Commerce – like ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbia – speak on behalf of all of their member companies and rep resent everyone’s interests. Branch associations of chambers of com merce, within their own structures, harmonise the development of new educational profiles in accordance with the latest business trends and the needs of the economy.

20 Years Of Successful Operations

As the first company to introduce the concept of a multifunctional petrol station to the Serbian market, by constantly investing in the development of the network, OMV achieved numerous business partnerships and created many jobs... 20 years in Serbia were followed by OMV being part of many charity and relevant projects for the society and the environment

The first OMV petrol station in Serbia, Lapovo Sever, was opened in March

2002. Over the course of two decades of doing business in the country, OMV has opened 63 petrol stations in Serbia and achieved a market share of around 10%.

“Twenty years ago, we brought a new business con cept and a new vision of the petrol station to the Serbian market, and for two decades we have been dedicated to de velopment and innovation in order to provide the highest quality products and services. I am very proud to be part of the history and development of OMV Serbia, and I can point out with great pleasure that OMV in Serbia continues to raise standards in all busi ness segments. Our priority is quick adaptation and suc cessful responses to customer needs, which are constantly changing and growing,” says Decebal Sorin Tudor, General Manager of OMV Serbia.

OMV is more than a filling station

OMV petrol stations are multi functional service centres – fill ing stations for both people and vehicles. Our customers can get fuel and lubricants and use the car wash service. There are 58 VIVA stores and restaurants ideal for a travel break, offer

ing refreshments, meals and a wide range of high-quality cof fees. We are particularly proud of the expansion of the coffee range to Single Origin - coffee of unique geographical origin, 100% Arabica, the quality of which is recognised even by those with the most refined taste. In addition, OMV has been a “Fair Trade” partner since 2012 and has introduced the “Fair Trade” standard at all of its stations. Each of our cof fees has the “Fair Trade” label.

The OMV company set new trends on the fuel market in Serbia 20 years ago and has continued to improve its offer ever since. OMV was the first in Serbia to import and offer fuel with 100 octanes from its refinery in Austria. Even today, OMV MaxxMotion Performance

Diesel is the only diesel on the Serbian market that’s reliable down to -38°C, and OMV Maxx Motion Super 100Plus meets the highest quality requirements of the Worldwide Fuel Char ter, category 6, which enables maximum engine efficiency and minimum exhaust emissions.

OMV offers its customers comfort, a wide range and qual ity, whether that relates to us ing car washes, buying tickets for concerts and sports events, TAG devices and refills... In order to expand its services by monitoring the needs and trends of consumers, during 2022 OMV Serbia, in coopera

tion with partners, secured a larger number of chargers for electric vehicles for chargers for electric vehicles. Moreover, a solar power plant has been installed on the roof of the OMV Ražanj petrol station and has started operating, and will produce 72,000 kWh of clean electricity every year, compensating for 23% of the facility’s total consumption.

Care for society and the environment in which we operate “Energy for a better life” is the motto that guides OMV when it comes to all business segments, including social responsibility and sustainable business. OMV Serbia supports a number of charitable organisations and participates in a large num ber of humanitarian actions. Climate protection and the re duction of CO2 emissions are at the top of the agenda of OMV

in Serbia. Accordingly, OMV Serbia has for many years been an active participant in various campaigns to preserve green areas and afforestation. Support to the local community is an important part of the activities and engagement of resources.

The power of teamwork and good business cooperation A significant segment of the company’s business is repre sented by numerous associates, partners and clients. OMV successfully cooperates with small, medium-sized and large companies, and that is how we contribute to the general pic ture of the economy in Serbia.

We are grateful to everyone who trusted and supported us over the past 20 years. We hope that, in the next 20 years, your travels will continue to start at our OMV petrol stations,” says OMV Serbia General Manager Decebal Sorin Tudor.

Knowledge Knows No Bounds

WIFI International has been providing education and training for adults worldwide for 30 years. Together with its partner network, it supports Austrian companies operating in more than 10 countries of Central and Southeast Europe, including the states of the Western Balkans, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria

local markets and local conditions, but also to the type and size of company receiving assistance.

Could it be said that the exist ence and activity of WIFI Inter national is based on the idea that knowhow, good educational pro grammes and educational stand ards should be shared and dis seminated? Is this also a way to strengthen the economy?

and supports Austrian companies with its international partner network in the training and further education of their subsidiaries abroad.

At the same time, project-related training solutions are offered within the framework of training alliances in the focus countries, above all in CEE and SEE, but also beyond the borders of Europe in Asia and Central America, wherever Austrian companies have their branches.

Modernising

vocational edu cation and training, while promoting the acquisition of sector-specific skills for future professionals, will drive economic development and innovation at local, regional and international levels and increase the competitiveness of the sectors concerned. That is our future.

We spoke to WIFI International regional manager Svetlana Stojšić to find out, among other things, how far WIFI International’s influence extends and in which countries it is active, what it offers and how its pro grammes are designed and adapted to

The Economic Promotion Institute is a department of the Austrian Fed eral Economic Chamber (WKÖ), the legal representative of the Austrian economy, to which 551,826 compa nies from the fields of crafts, trade, industry, banking and insurance, information and consulting, tourism and the leisure industry, transport and communications belong. WIFI means Economic Development Institute, and the name is to be taken literally. The economy is provided by WIFI with knowhow that is relevant in practice. Companies benefit because:

• WIFI serves as a platform and knowledge broker - in the fields of advertising, public relations, internet, new educational products, technologies and innovation;

• WIFI works as an international interface - for knowledge transfer, international programmes and new training concepts.

WIFI International is a department of the business development institute WIFI, which is active in EU projects

WIFI, for example, serves an es timated market potential of about 470 million inhabitants in Central, Eastern and SouthEast Europe alone. The scope and extent of the offer has expanded greatly over the decadesand continues to grow.

Through the qualitative educa tion offered in all sectors (courses, seminars, training courses), WIFI International promotes the standard of education locally and thus covers the economic demand for qualified workers. The higher qualification of employees contributes significantly to competitiveness. The professional development measures, trainings, are tailored to the needs of the customers

WIFI International also aims to develop innovative training programmes that follow the trends of the time and the needs of the economy

and are implemented in the respec tive national languages - considering the national culture - based on our scientifically founded WIFI learning model LENA = living and sustainable.

The offer ranges from tailored semi nars and courses to industry-specific training in the white collar and bluecollar segments. Together with Aus trian companies with branches in the target countries, WIFI is also involved in exporting the successful Austrian system of dual training.

The constant changes the world is facing require lifelong learning, improvement and adaptation. What kind of knowledge, skills and abil ities are valued today? What is essential for progress?

Modernising vocational education and training, and promoting the acqui sition of sector-specific skills for future professionals, is absolutely central. This will drive economic development and innovation at local, regional and international levels, as well as increas ing the competitiveness of the sectors concerned. In this context, “Lifelong Learning” is very important. WIFI International also aims to develop innovative training programmes that follow the trends of the time and the needs of the economy. Digitalisation, innovation, sustainability, values and ethics are important topics.

Through the formation of knowl edge alliances between international educational institutions, institutions and companies, entrepreneurship, creativity, employability, knowledge exchange and practice-oriented teach ing and learning are promoted.

More than 40% of jobs in Europe will change dramatically due to digitalisation. In order to be able to meet these current events, also with regard to COVID-19, the vocational education and training (VET) of all companies should be adapted to the needs of the labour market: accord ingly, Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVET) will be crucial to meet the new challenges.

There is a shortage of highly qualified personnel and skilled labour in Western Europe. Can

this problem be alleviated through further adult education, retraining, courses, specialised training etc.?

To quote Tatjana Baborek, Director of the Austrian Institute for Economic Development, “well-trained profession als are the engine of economic growth. WIFI International is the #firstpartner for lifelong learning and customised

of skilled workers is to step up train ing and further education measures. Through qualitative education and training offers, educational stand ards are promoted and thus cover the economic demand for qualified workers, in order to counteract the shortage of skilled workers, not only in the medium term, but also in the long term.

educational offers in vocational edu cation and training”. The shortage of skilled workers is a burden on the economy, and companies are already suffering greatly. There is now not only a shortage of skilled workers, but of workers in general. The consequences are serious, companies are reporting turnover losses and the effort required to find personnel is becoming ever greater and more difficult.

In my view, one of the most effective measures to counteract the shortage

Another important lever against the shortage of skilled labour is continu ing education within the framework of in-company human resources de velopment. For a company, the first chance to counteract the shortage of skilled workers lies in its own staff. Find potential skilled workers within the company and give them the op portunity for further development (re training, further training offers etc.).

The measure of securing skilled labour related to both employees who already work at the company and those who will join in the future. Investing in one’s own resources creates a work ing atmosphere and quality of work that is appreciated by both existing and new employees.

One of the most effective measures to counteract the shortage of skilled workers is to step up training and further education measures

MARKO STOJANOVIĆ

PRESIDENT OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, MERKUR OSIGURANJE SRBIJA

Proud Of GreenLife

You presented a new product this year: Green Life. Could you tell us more about it?

We launched GreenLife in March 2022 and are very proud of it. It is a new type of product, a so-called unitlinked product that is linked to units of investment funds, in this case three funds specifi cally, which follow the cycle and risk appetite for invest ing during life’s dynamics. It has an implied life insurance component, as well as supple mentary insurance for surgi cal interventions and the like.

Alongside direct contacts with private clients, I believe this can also be an additional op portunity for the HR services of major organisations, which also have an awareness of ESG regulations.

You were recently ap pointed executive board president. What were your initial plans and ambitions in taking on this important position?

Weset our ambi tions and goals pretty high.

Merkur this year decided to fortify its cor porate governance, continue strengthening its market po sition, and provide its clients with high-quality products and services - announces Marko Stojanović, new president of the executive board of insur ance company Merkur osigu ranje in Serbia.

How would you assess the previous 15 years that your company has been operating in Serbia? Have those been more than suc cessful years?

Merkur is the oldest insur ance company in Austria, which next year commemo

rates its 225th anniversary. That is a tradition worthy of respect, because we insure the individual person and the values that mean the most to them: life and health! The fo cus has been on the individual and their needs for more than two centuries. We strive to have our own niche and recog nisability in the life insurance sector. All processes are today being digitalised, financial institutions are transforming themselves, and we want to be part of those changes. The organisation has rebranded and rejuvenated itself, and we are particularly proud of our new logo “Srećko” [Slavic form of the Latin name Fe lix, meaning happy or lucky], whose spirit permeates our organisation on a daily basis.

We are proud to highlight the fact that it’s a unique product on the market. The “Green” in the name indicates that it invests exclusively in “green funds”, i.e., funds aligned with ESG and sus tainable business standards. Awareness of ESG (Environ ment, Social, and Governance) initiatives is extremely high around the world, to some extent also in our country, and we are currently striv ing to be the first company to provide the market with a product that unifies long-term investment, life insurance and supplemental insurance.

In parallel with that, we’ve also implemented an E2E solution with which we’re endeavouring to end our use of paper, as we are an environmentally-friendly and cost-conscious company.

A rotation of positions oc curred in the administration, so the previous president, Ti jana Ristić, was appointed as a member of the executive board for finance and the regulatory framework, while I was appointed president of the executive board with a focus on sales and links with business partners and market associates. I think an excellent balance was created, both at the top and within our teams, while synergy and new energy could be felt from the day I first arrived at Merkur osiguranje.

I advocate for the utilising of organisational knowledge and experience, but also for it to be refined with more modern and innovative solutions. We call that #onemerkur and I’m very proud that this spirit is felt not only with us, but also throughout our entire group. Given that we will have several anniversaries next year, I ex pect us to show more significant changes and results by then.

Merkur doesn’t aspire to be the biggest player on the markets where it operates, but it does always want to be an innovator, with new ideas and products. Alongside tradition and experience, it also successfully transfers and implements original services and products, while taking the specifics of the local market into consideration

ADRIEN FEIX, DIRECTOR OF THE AUSTRIAN CULTURAL FORUM IN BELGRADE AND CULTURAL ATTACHÉ OF THE AUSTRIAN EMBASSY TO SERBIA

Culture Is The Precondition For Dialogue

Fostering broad and deep cultural ties is particularly relevant for a close partner and EU candidate country like Serbia, and I do feel a lot of current interest in engaging with Austria on many topics

While some of the great moments of this year’s cultural programme provided by the Aus trian Cultural Forum in Belgrade are already behind us, October and November are months when the music-loving Serbian public seeks out new feasts. This was just one of the many topics that we discussed with Adrien Feix, director of the

Austrian Cultural Forum in Belgrade and Cultural Attaché of the Austrian Embassy to Serbia.

The cultural and artistic pro grammes that you run very often serve to remind us of certain important historical periods during which we shared a common destiny. In this period of hyper history, how easy or difficult is it to use culture

as a medium to discuss the topics today occupying our minds?

Culture, as we at the Austrian Cul tural understand it, is a very broad term that encompasses not just the arts, but the entire system of customs, values and social conventions in which we live. Culture is the precondition for dialogue related to ecological, social and international topics. This is why Austrian Cultural Fora worldwide

FOCUS

We are focused increasingly on ecology and sustainable development, as well as on strategically developing partnerships in this field

PARTNERSHIPS

We are often approached by new partners with ideas to cooperate directly, and we try to respond positively if the idea suits our mission of making connections with contemporary Austrian culture

PHILOSOPHY

Culture, as we at the Austrian Cultural For a understand it, is a very broad term that encompasses not just the arts, but the entire system of customs, values and social conventions in which we live

include sciences, human rights. Fos tering these broad and deep cultural ties is particularly relevant for a close partner and EU candidate country like Serbia, and I do feel a lot of interest in engaging with Austria on all of these topics at the moment.

What would you highlight from the programme prepared by the Austrian Cultural Forum for this autumn and the coming winter period?

A few highlights are already behind us, such as the Austrian Film Festival in Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad, which featured two exceptional guests and a great film selection prepared together with Professor Janković from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. October and November are generally strong months for music, and the public will enjoy a strong Austrian presence at the Belgrade and Pančevo jazz festivals and at NOMUS, but also Austrian DJs performing at Novi Sad’s Club Tunnel.

Novi Sad, as European capital of culture, is still very much in the focus of our programme, with Ger hard Flekatsch’s Cabinet of Wonders exhibition appearing at different cultural stations, Austrian participa tion in the Art Brut exhibition of the Capital of Culture and the exhibition of Lower Austria at the Museum of Vojvodina, which will remain on display throughout November.

Your early October programme included a notable opera workshop for children and a poetry festival. In this age of digital art and various digital contents, how open are today’s young people to content based around these classical arts?

The feedback we received from Sonja Šarić‘s opera workshops is

overwhelmingly positive. Children are open to all kinds of art forms, provided they are shown why such forms are interesting and relevant. The same goes for poetry: the Inter national Poetry Festival Belgrade shows how lively poetry remains and

is no difference between “popular” and “classical” arts for us. Arts in general should be valued, nurtured and updated continuously.

We have just entered a new school year. To what extent do

this year again attracted a great pro portion of young people. There really

Serbia students take advantage of opportunities to study in Austria?

Serbian students are very attracted by the proximity, quality and afford ability of studying in Austria, with around 1,000 of them currently en rolled in higher education in Austria. This is, in some sense, the continu ation of a tradition that dates back to the 19 th century, when Serbian artists, scientists and engineers

Most of the language courses for adults are available online, while experience has taught us that children need the experience of a classroom

studied in Graz or Vienna, but it also shows the vitality and openness of contemporary Austrian higher education institutions, which offer numerous stipends specifically to students from the region.

This also leads us neatly on to the issue of language studies. How many students pass through your German language courses each year and are those courses available online?

Austrian language courses are offered by the Austrian Institute Belgrade, a state institution with the highest standards of quality for teachers. Around 600 students enrol every year, about 1,200 internation ally recognised exams (ÖSD) passed. Most of the courses intended for adults are available online, while ex perience has taught us that children need the experience of a classroom.

How widespread are your study courses among young peo ple and how often do they attract businesspeople seeking to de velop ties with Austria, or workers wanting to continue their careers in Austria?

The courses at the Austrian Insti tute are very popular among both children and young adults wanting to learn German as part of their general education, and with professionals who are looking to work in Austria. The Austrian Institute offers highly

effective intensive “Sprint” courses for professionals who need to learn basic German in just a few months.

You have a permanent call for cooperation with the Forum that remains open throughout the year. How often do you gain new partners from Serbia?

We are often approached by new partners with ideas to cooperate directly, and we try to respond posi tively if the idea suits our mission of connections with contemporary Austrian culture. Additionally, we are also extending and updating our network proactively, meeting with cultural professionals and artists throughout the country, new con nections and developing projects. We are also on ecology and sustainable development, as well as on strate gically developing partnerships in this field.

Serbian students are very attracted by the proximity, quality and affordability of studying in Austria, with around 1,000 of them currently enrolled in higher education in Austria

Austria - The Green Heart Of Europe

Vienna filed a legal challenge against the EU’s inclu sion of the energy sources on a list of climatefriendly investments, which exposed deep rifts between countries over which energy sources to use to meet climate change goals.

Luxembourg confirmed it would join Austria’s action. Austrian Environment Min ister Leonore Gewessler said others may follow, without naming the countries.

Austria, Germany, Luxem bourg, Portugal and Denmark jointly called for nuclear to be excluded from the rules last November, when the EU was

still drafting them. Ireland and Spain had also warned Brussels against labelling investments in gas as “green”.

A German environment ministry spokesperson said the country would not join the legal action, but added that

ing which investments can be labelled climate friendly, designed to guide investors towards green projects that will help achieve the bloc’s emissions-cutting targets.

fossil fuel, as a green energy investment.

“it is good that the objections to the taxonomy regulation will now be reviewed by the courts.”

The EU’s so-called tax onomy is a rulebook defin

Austria’s legal action, sub mitted to the EU’s general court, makes 16 arguments for why Brussels should an nul the rules - including that nuclear energy cannot meet a requirement to “do no sig nificant harm” to the environ ment, due to concerns over radioactive waste.

Austrians widely oppose nuclear power and the country has never had an atomic plant.

Gewessler said it was “misleading” to label gas, a

The European Commis sion proposed the law in February, after more than a year of intense lobbying. Some central and eastern EU countries had argued gas investments should be incen tivised to help them quit more carbon-intensive coal, while states including France see low-carbon nuclear energy as key to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental campaign ers including Greenpeace launched separate legal chal lenges last month against the rules, which they said violated the EU’s own climate laws.

Austria has been seeking to enlist other European Union countries to support its legal action against Brussels for labelling investment in gas and nuclear power as “green”

Austrians widely oppose nuclear power and the country has never had an atomic plant

Fighting For Peace

Herlikeness was featured on banknotes, but also on stamps in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. You will still find her name given to many city streets across Europe, and you will come across her quotes about peace on social media. And when you enter the Peace Palace in The Hague, you will come across a copper bust of the ‘spiritual mother of the Peace Palace’, who witnessed the work on laying the foundations of the Peace Palace as one of the guests of honour.

Austrian feminist and peace activist Baroness Bertha von Suttner was an unorthodox and colourful person and a woman who was far ahead of her time. A contemporary of Tobias Asser (1838-

1913), the legal scholar after whom the Asser Institute is named, Von Suttner and Asser worked tirelessly - each in their own way - to establish the Hague Confer ences in 1899 and 1907. They would both receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their help in developing an international order aimed at peace rather than based on war.

However, as with many other women in the history of international (legal) thought, Von Suttner and her think ing on international law have been largely ignored in international legal history, considered as not befitting of traditional understandings of what counts as international thought and of who counts as an international thinker.

In 1889, when she was 46, Von Suttner published ‘Lay down your

Arms!’ (‘Die Waffen nieder!’), an antiwar novel that would propel her to worldwide fame. In order to depict the horrors of war, Von Suttner chose to write a novel rather than a nonfiction work, because she realised that novels would reach a wider audience. Her strategy worked. Die Waffen nieder! would be published in 37 editions and translated into 15 languages, catapult ing Von Suttner to the position of a leading figure in the emerging inter national peace movement. The book shows that Von Suttner held a ‘rather well-developed - and at times fairly sceptical - outlook on international law.’

In Die Waffen Nieder!, Von Suttner describes the horrors of war from the perspective of a suffering woman,

Bertha von Suttner, the best-selling author of the anti-war novel Die Waffen Nieder! [Lay Down Your Arms] stood at the foundations of The Hague’s international legal institutions and was the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize

Martha (Bertha’s alter ego). Die Waffen Nieder! is a first-person novel that tells the life story of Martha von Tilling amid four European wars - 1859, 1864, 1866 and 1870/71. It describes in very realistic terms the suffering war brings to both men and women. While this largely explains its worldwide popular ity, it is also a novel of international (law) ideas. Martha examines con temporary issues of international law, such as the problem of secret treaties, the right to self-determination of the people of Schleswig-Holstein, ‘historic rights’ claimed by Denmark as a ‘right cause’, or other causa belli claimed by European states to justify war. She passionately attacks the conservative perspectives on state, war and interna tional order that was so all-pervasive in the German-language world.

Von Suttner attacked the international right to go to war and argued for the abolition of standing armies - as nations with armies would become armed nations

Von Suttner, who worked as a jour nalist and teacher, together with her partner Arthur Von Suttner, had wit nessed the impact of war. Von Suttner was a harsh critic of the old social and political order of end-of-century Vienna and the disintegrating AustroHungarian Empire. She advocated social justice and a transformation of the old international order: ‘Gestern: Gewalt als Recht. Morgen: Recht als Gewalt’. She argued that it was possible to practice pacifism and solve disputes by talking rather than use of force. For protagonist Martha, war is the negation of ‘civilisation’ and she derided the sense of superiority among European ‘civilised nations’. She mocked the ‘barbarism’ of self-acclaimed ‘civilised nations’ and called for ‘the triumph of the intellect’ over the irrationality of war. Through her eyes, the reader learns how society maintains this ‘savagery’: by social conventions that define a woman’s role by her (breeding) function to the military, by a culture of patriotism and militarism, and by a Roman Catholic clergy that treats warfare as a product of the will of God.”

Von Suttner was more radical than her contemporaries who argued for the development of international humani tarian law. Von Suttner attacked the international right to go to war and argued for the abolition of standing armies - as nations with armies would become armed nations. Protesting against the arms race and the indus trialisation of weaponry, protagonist Martha presciently calls for a confed eration or ‘union’ of states, a ‘league of peace’ in Europe, and calls for the peaceful settlement of international disputes by an international ‘court of law’. At the end of the novel, Martha explicates the agenda of the peace movement and pleads one last time: ‘to move the Governments to submit their differences in future to an Arbitration Court, appointed by themselves, and thus once and for all enthrone justice in place of brute force.’

The success of Die Waffen Nieder! propelled Von Suttner to worldwide fame. She used her influence to es tablish peace societies in Austria and Germany, then travelled Europe as peace and social justice activist. With her high standing as a leading peace

activist, Von Suttner would become ‘the only woman permitted’ at the opening ceremony of the 1899 (Hague) confer ence at Dutch Queen Wilhelmine’s Huis ten Bosch’.

Denied access to the formal sessions of the 1899 Hague conference, Von Suttner instead used her position to contribute to peace through a law project, through the typical female practice of influencing intellectual and political debates: salon diplomacy.

The salon, a conversational gathering in an intimate setting, was an impor tant social institution in the circles of Bertha and her alter ego Martha. From the 17th and 18th centuries in France, and later elsewhere in Europe as well, aristocratic ladies would host salons

that influenced the cultural and social changes of their times. Salonnières held power. Under their influence, political plots were hatched, new literary trends started, scientific discoveries publicised and new ideas launched.

Von Suttner took her agenda of arbitration, disarmament and the abolishment of the laws of war to The Hague to work them through her sa lon in 1899 and 1907. As salonnière - first at the Grand Central Hotel in The Hague and later in the Kurhaus Hotel at Scheveningen beach - Von Suttner created an informal social space for frank conversations among the small cosmopolitan elite of diplomats, journalists and international legal experts. People would meet there and discuss the latest developments that were at issue in the formal sessions of the Peace Conference. Her salon was always full of callers and, from early in the morning, with interviewers for international newspapers. As the most prominent woman of the inter national peace movement, and as a salonnière, she could authoritatively lead the exchange of progressive (legal) pacifist ideas in a private setting, thus

Denied access to the formal sessions of the 1899 Hague conference, Von Suttner instead used her position to contribute to peace through a law project, through the typical female practice of influencing intellectual and political debates: salon diplomacy

contributing to the creation of an inter national public sphere avant-la-lettre. Journalists were not admitted to the [Conference] deliberations, but at her Salon they informed themselves, spoke with delegates and consulted interna tional lawyers and peace activists. The latter in turn hoped to mobilise ‘public opinion’ through the press and to influ ence the representatives.”

Von Suttner was important to the development of international law, as she changed the minds and perceptions of people with her book, and through her relentless campaigning for peace. With her novel and other writings, she contributed to what Lassa Oppenheim in 1908 claimed to be one of the main tasks of the science of international law: ‘popularisation of international law’.

Although Von Suttner would in her own way help lay the foundations of today’s international legal institutions, she would, throughout her life, remain ambivalent with regard to international law. In 1912, she wrote to a friend about international lawyers: ‘Das sogenannte >Völkerrecht< - trockene Juristerei –past nicht in die Friedensbewegung, ungefähr wie das Rote Kreuz .‘ (‘The so-called >international law< - dry ju

As salonnière - first at the Grand Central Hotel in The Hague and later in the Kurhaus Hotel at Scheveningen beach - Von Suttner created an informal social space for frank conversations among the small cosmopolitan elite of diplomats, journalists and international legal experts

risprudence - does not fit into the peace movement, much like the Red Cross.’) And four weeks before her death: ‘Die Völkerrechtslehrer werden den Pazi fismus erdrosseln.’ (‘The teachers of international law will strangle pacifism’).

In her view, only a ban on war, dis armament, and the pacifist settlement of international disputes by an inter national court of arbitration would do. She would fight for that until the end of her life.

A few days after her death, the First World War broke out.

The White Dancing Horses of Vienna

In Austria, the window to another era is provided by the Spanish Riding School. It is a living form of Renaissance art, an institution that has survived for centuries unmodernised and unaltered

Founded

in 1572, the Spanish Riding School is the embodi ment of Austrian tradition. It pays homage to a 2,000-yearold art of classical riding and sits alongside Mozart, Strauss and Freud on the calling card of Vienna. Its rid ers are revered and, once accepted through a rigorous application process in their teens, have a job for life. The hierarchy is so strict that it takes 12 years to graduate from a pupil to a fully-fledged rider.

The riders’ demeanour is a cross between army officer and detached film star, but the horses are the true stars of the show. Pure-bred grey Lipizzaners, they float above the ground of the Winter Riding School, white manes and tails flowing, like mythical creatures with wings.

So much of our received imagery of horses involves Lipizzaners. Think of the Stubbs painting of a horse be ing attacked by a lion, the Van Dyck portrait of Charles I, or of Rubens’s portraits of Hapsburg emperors on regal-looking steeds - the horses are Lipizzaners. They are everywhere: as rearing marble statues, on the walls of art galleries and in the palaces of Europe’s ruling families.

In Vienna they perform once a week, on Sunday mornings in an 18th-century Baroque palace in the city centre. The performances are sold out months in advance and the tickets are snapped up for the daily training sessions, which are open to the public.

The riders make imperceptible commands as the Lippizaners move smoothly from walk into piaffe (trot ting on the spot) or passage (a highstepping trot during which the legs seem suspended in the air). It takes each horse between five and six years to master the more difficult moves, so they are brought along slowly, never over-faced.

The younger horses are less pol ished in their movement and spook when the crowd claps at the end of their 10-minute appearance, but the more experienced stallions pirouette or canter on the spot, turning circles that would collapse if their balance

were not perfect. In a move called a capriole, they jump in the air, with forelegs and hind legs kicking out, like a ballet dancer performing a grand jete. They raise their forelegs, hovering above the ground with their hind legs taking all of the pressure, in a controlled rear that is held for as long as possible (the levade). They rear high, front legs drawn tightly in, and hop forward on their hind legs

VI on a grey Lipizzaner hangs at one end. Paintings in the gallery show crowds in the 18th century leaning over the low walls, craning their necks round the marble pillars, straining for a better view.

The Spanish Riding School proudly claims to be the only riding school in the world at which the classical art of riding is practised in its purest form. This ‘classical art’ dates back

(the courbette). Even in canter, the pace is so controlled the rider can still walk behind.

The Winter Riding School arena is a vast ballroom with sawdust as its dancefloor. It was completed in 1735 as part of the palace of Hofburg and it is lit by three enormous crystal chandeliers - it also has two flagpoles in the centre. A portrait of Charles

to a Greek soldier named Xenophon, a disciple of Socrates, who led his army on a 1,000-mile march home to Greece across enemy territory. During the march, Xenophon contemplated the skill of training a horse in war fare and the best way to ensure it remained healthy and fit to survive many years on the road. He wrote down his observations in a book called The Art of Horsemanship, which was first ‘published’ in 360BC. Xenophon espoused patience as the only way in which to get the best from a horse, a significant departure from the some times violent mastery of horses that is still prevalent elsewhere.

The European Renaissance saw a revival of Xenophon’s theories, as riding schools were established to train horses to perform at the royal courts. When Spanish-bred horses were found to display the best tem perament and appearance, they were

The riders’ demeanour is a cross between army officer and detached film star, but the horses are the true stars of the show. Pure-bred grey Lipizzaners, they float above the ground of the Winter Riding School, white manes and tails flowing, like mythical creatures with wings

transported to the village of Lipizza in Slovenia where the first royal stud was founded in 1580 and the Lipizzaner breed was established. In 1920, the stud was moved to Piber in Styria, about three hours southwest of Vienna.

It is here, surrounded by trees, hills and grass, that I get close to Lipizzaner foals for the first time. Born between January and June, they are weaned from their moth

ers at six months and then split by gender to establish their own peck ing order. As yearlings, they are moved to the Alps to improve their

muscles and balance (every summer, the performance horses are also put out to pasture in the mountains to enjoy the Alpine herbs and grasses and the purity of the air).

At three years old, the stallions with the best configuration and tem perament will start training and the finest mares will be selected for the continuation of the breed. Those not selected are available for sale and are in great demand.

This ‘classical art’ dates back to a Greek soldier named Xenophon, a disciple of Socrates, who led his army on a 1,000-mile march home to Greece across enemy territory

When they are born, Lipizzaners are brown or dark grey. Their colour lightens as they grow older to a bright white, but a few stay brown. Most of these are sold but one brown horse is always included in the performance as a mascot.

During the Second World War, the Lipizzaner stallions were evacuated to safer territory in the mountains so as to escape the Allied bombing. When the area was then occupied by

American forces, word was sent to the commanding officer, General George S Patton, that the horses were there. Patton himself had competed in the modern pentathlon at the Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912, and when he learnt that Colonel Alois Podhajsky, the head of the Spanish Riding School, was a fellow Olympian and that his stallions were under threat, he agreed with Podhajsky that they should become wards of the

The riding school has perfected a synergy between man and horse that is based on patience, kindness, mutual trust and honesty. Its beauty is in its simplicity and in the obvious enjoyment of the real heroes, the gleaming grey stallions

U.S. Army. It was an episode later celebrated in Disney’s Miracle of the White Stallions (1963).

At the conclusion of the war, Patton ensured the stallions and the mares and foals (who had been transported to Czechoslovakia) were returned to Vienna and so safeguarded the continuation of the Spanish Riding School.

These are modern-day knights, protecting an art that would other wise be extinct. The riding school has perfected a synergy between man and horse that is based on patience, kindness, mutual trust and honesty. Its beauty is in its simplicity and in the obvious enjoyment of the real heroes, the gleaming grey stallions.

BY VALERIYA SAFRONOVA

An Empress Ahead Of Her Time

The 19th century’s Empress Elisabeth of Austria is ubiquitous in Vienna: on chocolate boxes, on bot tles of rosé wine, on posters around the city. The Greek antiques that she collected are on display at Hermesvilla palace, on the outskirts of the city; her hearse is at Schönbrunn Palace, the Hapsburg family’s former summer residence; and her gym equipment is on display at the Hofburg, which was the monarchy’s central Vienna home

Thesetraces paint an entic ing, yet incomplete, picture of an empress who receded from public life not long after entering it, and spent most of her time travelling the world. She had a tattoo on her shoulder, drank wine with breakfast, and exercised two to three times a day on wall bars and rings in her rooms. These eccen tricities, combined with her refusal to have her picture taken after her early 30s, fuelled the air of mystery that surrounded her.

Today, nearly 125 years after the then 60-year-old Elisabeth was as sassinated, two new productions — a new Netflix series called The Empress and a film called Corsage, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May and will hit American cinemas on 23rd December — offer their own ideas.

“Growing up in Austria, she was the main tourist magnet, aside from Mozart,” said Marie Kreutzer, who wrote and directed Corsage. Never theless, she added, Elisabeth, who was married to Emperor Franz Josef I, remains largely a mystery. “Her image is one you can reimagine and reinterpret and fill with your own imagination, because we have a lot of stories about her, but you don’t know if they’re true,” explained Kreutzer.

The moody, intellectual and beautyobsessed empress has had many revivals.

During her lifetime, Elisabeth, who also went by the nickname Sisi, travelled constantly, often visiting Hungary, Greece and England, and was rarely seen by the Viennese public. In private, she wrote poetry, rode horses and hunted, hiked in the high Alps, read Shakespeare, studied classical and modern Greek, took warm baths in olive oil and wore leather masks filled with raw veal as part of her skincare routine.

“She was such a recluse,” said Wien Museum curator Michaela Lindinger, who has spent more than two decades studying Elisabeth and authored the book My Heart Is Made of Stone: The Dark Side of the Empress Elisabeth, which inspired the film Corsage. “People didn’t see her, and she didn’t want to be seen,” said Lindinger.

She was nevertheless empress of Austria, and later also queen of Hun gary, so she was widely discussed. “No matter how much she fled the attention and scrutiny and the court, she was always pursued,” said Allison Pataki, who has authored two histori cal novels about Elisabeth – The Ac cidental Empress and Sisi: Empress on Her Own. “She was thrust into the spotlight as this young girl who was chosen by the emperor, in large part because of her physical beauty.”

After Elisabeth was killed by an anarchist in Switzerland, in 1898, she became an object of fascination throughout the Hapsburg Empire, and her image appeared on com memorative coins and in memorial pictures. In the 1920s, a series of novels about her were published, focusing on her love life.

During the 1950s, the Sissi film trilogy, starring Romy Schneider, revived Elisabeth as a happy-go-lucky Disney princess come to life, clad in bouncy pastel dresses and beloved by animals and people alike. The syrupy films, which appear on Ger man and Austrian TV screens every Christmas, are part of the Heimatfilm genre, which emerged in the Germanspeaking world after World War II and feature beautiful scenes of the countryside, clear-cut morals and a world untouched by conflict.

“I grew up watching the Romy Sch neider movies in a campy way,” said Katharina Eyssen, show runner and head author of The Empress, who hails from Bavaria. As interpreted by Schneider, Elisabeth is “just a good-hearted girl that has no inner conflicts,” she said.

Eyssen’s take on Elisabeth, played by Devrim Lingnau in The Empress, is feistier, wilder and edgier than Schneider’s. The series opens shortly before Elisabeth meets her future husband (and cousin), during his birthday celebrations in Bad Ischl. As the story goes, Franz Josef was expected to propose to Elisabeth’s elder sister, Duchess Helene in Ba varia, but he changed his mind when he set eyes on Elisabeth.

Today, nearly 125 years after the then 60-year-old Elisabeth was assassinated, two new productions — a new Netflix series called The Empress and a film called Corsage, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May and will hit American cinemas on 23rd December — offer their own ideas

Where Schneider’s eyes sparkle with joy and excitement, Lingnau’s are heavier and signal a darker in ner world.

In the biographies that Eyssen read while developing the show, she said that Elisabeth’s character is portrayed as “difficult, fragile, almost

bipolar, melancholic”, but Eyssen didn’t fully buy into this perspective.

“There has to be a creative and pas sionate force, otherwise she wouldn’t have survived that long,” she said.

Much of what is known about the empress’s personal life comes from her poems, as well as letters and written recollections from her chil dren, her ladies-in-waiting and her Greek tutor. “She’s a myth in so many ways,” explained Kreutzer. “It was a different time, there was no media as there is today. There are so few photographs of her.”

Elisabeth refused to have her pic ture taken after her early 30s, while she last sat for a portrait at the age of 42. Photos and paintings of her that are dated later are either retouched or composites. “She wanted to re main in the memory of the people as the eternally young queen,” said Lindinger.

Corsage goes further down the dark pathways of Elisabeth’s character than The Empress, offering a punk-

gothic portrait of the empress at 40, as a deeply troubled soul who grasps for levity and freedom in the stifling atmosphere of the Hapsburg court.

She smokes, is obsessed with exercise and the sea, and weighs herself daily (all true, according to historians).

The German title of the film trans lates as “corset”. Elisabeth famously maintained a 50-centimetre waistline throughout her life.

Kreutzer and Vicky Krieps, who portrays Elisabeth, decided that –for the sake of authenticity – Krieps would wear a corset like the Em press’s during filming.

“It’s a real torture instrument,” admitted Krieps. “You can’t breathe, you can’t feel. The ties are on your solar plexus, not on your waist.” She said she almost gave up on filming because of how miserable the corset made her feel.

The final years of Elisabeth’s life have remained largely unexplored in popular culture (Corsage takes ar tistic liberties with the portrayal of her death.) After Elisabeth’s only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, killed himself in 1889, her longstanding depression became deeper and more permanent. While sailing on her yacht, Miramar, she would sit on the deck even during bad weather, her ever-present black lace parasol representing her only defence against the rain and breaking waves, according to the Katrin Unterreiner book Sisi: Myth and Truth. Once, dur ing a heavy storm, she had herself tied to a chair above deck. According to her Greek tutor, Constantin Christomanos, she said: “I am acting like Odysseus because the waves lure me.”

According to novelist Allison Pa taki, Elisabeth fought against the constricting role of being an empress throughout her life. From her poems, intellectual pursuits and travels, it appears as though Elisabeth was always looking outward, imagining herself as being anywhere but where she was. In one poem from 1880, she gave a hint of what she might have been thinking during all the time she spent on the deck of the Miramar: “I am a seagull from no land/I do not call any one beach my home/I am not tied by any one place/I fly from wave to wave.”

In some ways, Pataki said, she might have felt more comfortable in today’s society than in 19th-century Vienna. “Her primary role and the expectation put on her was to have sons, produce heirs,” Pataki said. “But Sisi was far ahead of her time in wanting more for herself as a woman, an individual, a wife and a leader.”

In some ways, Pataki said, she might have felt more comfortable in today’s society than in 19th-century Vienna. “Her primary role and the expectation put on her was to have sons, produce heirs,” Pataki said. “But Sisi was far ahead of her time in wanting more for herself as a woman, an individual, a wife and a leader.”

VICKY KRIEPS AS THE EMPRESS IN CORSAGE_FELIX VRATNYIFC FILMS