Fiaker-Milli: Vienna's dazzling life between fame and ruin

Fiaker-Milli: Vienna's dazzling life between fame and ruin

Wien, Österreich - Vienna has produced many icons, but only a few have lived in people's memories as the unconventional singer Emilie Turecek, better known as fiaker-milli . Born on June 30, 1846 in poor conditions on the Alsergrund, she became a dazzling star of Vienna's nightlife in the 19th century. But her way to fame was anything but straightforward, which today not only makes her a fascinating figure in history, but also a symbol for the emancipated woman of that time.

For the first time in the press, she was mentioned in 1867, but rather with skepticism. She even referred to the "Foreign Gazette" as "dubious person". Nevertheless, the development of her talent was unstoppable. Their appearances in the bouquet halls and later in well-known restaurants such as the Thaliasale and the three-angel halls gained their quick successes. Her savory couplets were particularly popular, such as the famous "I'm still so inexperienced", which offered a deep insight into the frivolous and passionate world of their time, and the audience inspired.

from fame to the case

With a daring jockey outfit, which not only steered the eyes, but also required police permits, she put the conventions of the company to the test. In the amusement industry, which often collided with moral questions, Fiaker-Milli was one of the few women who dared to fight for social expectations. In her police file, however, she was also managed as a prostitute, which underlines the ambivalence of her career. Their appearances were not only shaped by arts, but also from a certain risk, because the Fiaker were often the means of transport for night owls and sex workers of the time.

But happiness did not last forever. After her wedding with Ludwig Demel in 1874, a fiaker, she thought of withdrawing from the spotlight and continuing her life in her husband's wagon company. However, this was different from planned. Just a few months later, she had to register bankruptcy and quickly disappeared from the public. Her last years were shaped by poverty, and on May 13, 1889 she died of cirrhosis in Dornbach, at the age of only 42. An obituary in the "Neue Wiener Tagblatt" recalled their earlier fame and the dramatic contrast at their end of life.

a lasting inheritance

The myth of Fiaker-Milli lives on. In the opera "Arabella" she was immortalized by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, while cinematic representations such as "FiakerMilli - Darling of Vienna" from 1953 brought her legend on the screen. Its importance for Viennese culture was recognized again in 2022 by naming part of the Danube Canal Way to the Emilie Tureecek Promenade, which shows that its story is deeply impressed in the city's collective memory.

The topics of lust and vice that had central importance in Vienna in the 19th century also accompanied Fiaker-Milli in their life and their appearances, as the Leopold Museum complies. Numerous dance events and balls became meeting points of pleasure and seduction during this time, and Emilie Turecek was undoubtedly a central component of this exciting epoch. Historywiki adds the biography ... and the Museum provides the cultural context.