Emperor Franz Joseph Hunting Statue

The monument (in German called “Kaiser Jagdstandbild”) was erected in 1910 on the occasion the 80th birthday of the Emperor. The idea came from the Austrian hunting community. The statue was sculpted by the Viennese Art Nouveau sculptor Georg Leisek. In order to find the most suitable location, a full-size mock-up was constructed and set up in autumn and winter of 1909/1910 at various locations around Ischl. To avoid a major chaos, the day of unveiling was postponed from 18 August (the Emperor’s actual birthday) to 24 August 1910 because about 3,000 hunters and festival participants had arrived.

The monument and its erection were marketed in an unprecedented way. In all crown lands, support committees were founded. Before the unveiling, postcards of the model were printed, models of the monument were distributed to selected guests, and there were plaques (by Atelier Adler, sold to commemorate the unveiling), stamps, etc. Therefore, the monument became very popular quickly, and has remained so to the present day. In 1930 there was a great celebration here for the late Emperor’s 100th birthday; he had died in 1916. In 1980, the statue was painted sky blue by unknown persons as an "art action" ("hommage á Magritte").

The statue is located in a small park. The larger-than-life bronze figure of Emperor Franz Joseph in hunting clothes stands on a large block of gneiss brought from Dürnstein mountain. At the foot of the block lies a bronze deer. A few steps from the monument (since 2000, the plaque is almost in the middle of the monument) there is a stone plaque with an inscription. The figure of the Emperor is about 3 m high and the deer equally as long.

The reason for the unbroken popularity of this timeless monument is certainly the extremely fortunate location. It is located not at a topographically outstanding point, but here with a rock face in the background. The only downside: the panoramic view over the Traun River looking to Ischl is now quite overgrown.

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