PALACE TO BE MUSEUM

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 254, 26 October 1937, Page 3

PALACE TO BE MUSEUM

The Ex-Kaiser’s Residence

The Achilleion on Corfu. ongina!lv built on the site of the Villa Eraila for tho Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and later on owned by Kaiser Wilhelm IL, is now to be converted into a museum. The Empress Elisabeth, after the terrible tragedy of Mayerling, was trying to find some retreat in a spot onthe Mediterranean, and during a cruise found that the view from the Villa Braila on the Island of Corfu was tho most restful she had yet seen. She therefore asked the Italian architect Canto, to build her a villa in Italian fi’enaissauco style. rhe original furnishing of the Achilleion revealed the classical and poetical interests of the Austrian Empress, and in the garden, with its rich Southern vegetation and shady walks, she ordered a statue of tho Dying Achilles, and also a monument in honour of her favourite poet, Ilenrich Heme. Tn 1907 Kaiser Wilhelm IL took ovei the oalate, and next to the dying here!

placed a statue of the living Achi’ while Heine’s statue was removed changes inside the palace also showef that the villa ot a gentle, melancholy soul had new passed into the hands ol a martial ruler. The chair at the desk, for example, was replaced by a rucking saddle. During the War the Achilleion was a hospital for the Serbian Army who sought refuge in Corfu after the defeat of 1915. During the Republican dava it was used as a show place for lour J ists, and some years ago the hotel manager, Marquct, intended to convert it into a hotel ami a gambling casino. Last year it was hoped that tho house might be used ouce more as g royal residence, but when it becam(| evident that King George did not to live at the Achilleion, the authority decided to convert it into a museumg The present museum in - Corfu is not very large, and undoubtedly its valuable contents would gain a great den| if they were to b« moved tc the roonig of the Achilleion,