INTRODUCTION

Photo by Márk Széchenyi

Barbara Káli-Rozmis

Researcher of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
Anita Potvorszki, Melinda Vilman,          Barbara Káli-Rozmis and Viktória Vas. Dresses: fashion designer Mónika Czédly

I graduated in English and Hungarian Language and Literature from the Faculty of Humanities and got a certification as a journalist-editor-press officer too. I have been interested in aristocratic families since my childhood. In 1997, a two-page newspaper article and the accompanying posthumous portrait caught my attention of Empress-Queen Elisabeth, whose life I have been researching ever since.

I am involved in several national and international projects relating to the Empress. Such as expert proofreading and editing, filmmaking, publishing articles, making YouTube videos and lecturing. My first own book published in October 2021 was chosen as “one of the most beautiful Christmas presents of 2021” and became a best seller in its category within three months. 

I am the founder of the TEMPT – The Empress Memory Team, which aim is to keep her memory alive with a view of presenting an up-to-date image of her. I work with fashion designer Mónika Czédly, the creator of authentic replicas of the Queen’s dresses, historian Zita Patricia Pálinkás, gastronome Monika Halmos, who is an expert on the Queen’s favourite dishes, and Sisi’s impersonators, Melinda Vilman and Viktoria Vas Living History Interpreter to bring the authentic story of the Empress-Queen and her family to as many people as possible.

Thanks to one of my videos, the Hungarian branch of the Habsburg family got to know my work and contacted me. Through Count János Seremetyeff-Papp, who is close to the family, they received my articles and short films and decided to open their family archives, which had been closed to outsiders. In recognition of my work, Archduke Michael von Habsburg-Lothringen, great-great-grandson of Queen Elisabeth, wrote a recommendation for my book, emphasising that I present authentically Queen Elisabeth’s life and her role in the Hungarian history.

 

 

“The Book of the Year Award 2022” in the historical non-fiction category

On 6 October 2021, my first book, Queen Elisabeth and the Hungarians – Friendship or Love? was published in Hungarian. With this work, I would like to provide the reader with a book that is captivating and exciting, at the same time informative and authentic. While my friend, Mónika Czédly creates authentic replicas of the Empress-Queen’s dresses, I try to reconstruct many of the most interesting scenes of Elisabeth’s life. My work is written in a novel style, however, it is by no means fictional: the conversations I recorded were indeed spoken as they are written down in my work since they were saved from being forgotten by the Empress’ contemporaries. The descriptions are not figments of my imagination either. As can be seen in the Works Cited, I used many reminiscences, diaries, letters, contemporary descriptions, and reports.

Numerous books have been written about the Empress. Novelists often tend to rely on fantasy rather than historically accurate sources to describe events. I was inspired to write my book in a narrative form to show that reality can be as interesting – or even more interesting – as a novel. Many from the more than 200 images are published for the first time. Archduke Michael von Habsburg-Lothringen, great-great-grandson of Queen Elisabeth provided it with a Recommendation in which he highlights that I present the Queen’s life authentically.

Please, visit my references: HERE. My book about Empress-Queen Elisabeth: HERE

Barbara Káli-Rozmis

 

Three-pages interview with Barbara Káli-Rozmis about her book in Nők Lapja (“Women’s Magazine”), which has been one of the leading weekly magazines in Hungary since 1949.

A three-page interview in the “Közeli” column of Nők Lapja: “A Cloudwalk with Sisi – Barbara Káli-Rozmis, researcher of Queen Elisabeth”

The interview was conducted by Emese Dudics about my work and my book Queen Elisabeth and the Hungarians – Friendship or Love.

Read the beginning of the interview online for free: HERE

I. Why Elisabeth?

As the researcher of Elisabeth, I am often asked how I started being interested in the Empress’ life. People are usually surprised that for me it was not the Sissi-trilogy that arose my attention but an article about her in a newspaper, which stated that the next year would be the 100th anniversary of Elisabeth’s death, and then some interesting things were written about her beauty cult. This article and a posthumous portrait of her (by Gyula Benczúr, 1899) provided with it made such an impact on me that I wanted to know everything about her. More than twenty years have passed since then. On 10th September 2018, it was the 120th anniversary, which was highly important to me. That is why and on that occasion, I founded the TEMPT – The Empress Memory Team, which aim is to keep the memory of Elisabeth alive and make an attempt to present her as trustworthy as possible.

10 September 2018, Barbara Káli-Rozmis

Photo by Márk Széchenyi
II. Curriculum Vitae

From 2005, teaching English and Hungarian language

From 2008, Researcher of Empress Elisabeth of Austria

From 2012, Teaching literary style at a Journalist School

In 2012, “The Relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn” – Research and Thesis

From 2015, blog and the Facebook page about Empress Elisabeth and her family (articles in Hungarian and English)

From 2016, a TUMAG – Magazine for Conscious People – www.tumag.hu

III. My Education

2009–2012 – Kodolányi János University of Applied Sciences: English and American Studies – Business English and Translation

2006–2008: Eszterházy Károly College, Faculty of Humanities – Teacher of Hungarian Language and Literature

2003–2005 – University of Szeged – Juhász Gyula Teacher Training College – Hungarian and English language and literature

2012– 2015 Krúdy Gyula Journalists School – Journalists – Editor – Press Secretary (Accredited Training)

Table of Contents

 

Would you like to support my researches?

 

You can support my work and read my exclusive posts on Patreon – EXCLUSIVE POSTS ABOUT EMPRESS ELISABETH OF AUSTRIA (SISI).

You can support my work via PayPal as well: azigazisisi@gmail.com (Please, do not write to this mailbox, it is used it only for the PayPal.)

 
 
 
 

Subtitled in English: The Buda Hills Summer Villa of Sisi and her Children during Cholera