King ludwig ii

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King ludwig ii

• By Katelyn Martin (Katja)

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• Also known as the Swan King, Mad King Ludwig,
  der Märchenkönig (the FairyTale King)

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Childhood

• Born August 25, 1845 at Nymphenburg Palace in
  Munich as Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelim
• Father Maximilian II of Bavaria
• Mother Marie of Prussia, the Kings 1st cousin

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Nymphenburg Palace
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• Ludwig was named after his grandfather King
  Ludwig I because they shared the same Birthday
• Younger brother Otto, 3 years younger
• Louis XIV of France was his Godfather

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King of Bavaria

• March 10, 1863
• June 13, 1886

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King of Bavaria

• In 1883, he stated "I became king much too early.
  I had not learned enough. I had made such a good
  beginning ... with the learning of state laws.
  Suddenly I was snatched away from my books and
  set on the throne. Well, I am still trying to
  learn...
• In 1866 the expanding state of Prussia conquered
  Austria and Bavaria in the "German War". From
  then on, Bavaria's foreign policy was dictated by
  Prussia and the king was only a "vassal" of his
  Prussian uncle.

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King of Bavaria

• Ludwig soon became detached from anything
  political
• He spent vast amounts of money on his own
  personal projects, such as castles and palaces.

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Wagner obsession

• A few weeks after becoming King, Ludwig summoned
  Richard Wagner to court.
• From May 1864 December 1865, Wagner was
  constantly with Ludwig, with Ludwig paying off
  all of Wagners debts and giving him a yearly
  income of 8000 gulden
• Munich soon became the musical capital of Europe
  because Ludwig built theaters for Wagners
  operas.
• Ludwig funded many of Wagners operas with money
  that belonged to the State of Bavaria. This led
  to the people of Bavaria forcing Ludwig to make
  Wagner leave Bavaria.

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Wagner continued.

• Between 1872 1885 the king had Wagner perform
  28 operas and 8 ballets for him privately.
• In 1876, Ludwig had a festival theater built in
  Bayreuth and Wagners "Der Ring des Nibelungen
  was the first performance. Every year since then,
  there has been an annual Bayreuth Festival
• "Tristan und Isolde" (1865), "Die Meistersinger
  von Nürnberg" (1868), "Das Rheingold" (1869) and
  "Die Walküre" (1870)

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Love life

• There was a lot of pressure from his family to
  produce an heir.
• In January 1867, he became engaged to his 1st
  cousin, Duchess Sophie of Bavaria.
• After postponing the wedding on numerous
  occasions, Ludwig finally ended the engagement in
  October 1867, by writing a letter to Sophie with
  the line The main substance of our relationship
  has always been ... Richard Wagner's remarkable
  and deeply moving destiny.
• His engagement to Sophie was the only
  relationship known to the public.

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Alternative Love life

• Ludwig had many close friendships with men,
  including Wagner and many young actors, including
  Richard Hornig.
• In his diary he would write about his sexual
  desires towards men, and his struggle to remain
  true to his Catholic faith

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Older years

• Ludwig became more and more antisocial, barely
  leaving his castles, with only his servants and
  lovers surrounding him.
• He slept all day long and stayed up all night.
• When he did leave the castles, it was in the
  middle of the night, riding the countryside in
  his sleighs, wearing historic costumes
• He bought more extravagant gifts for himself,
  which lead him in debt

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Mad King Ludwig?

• Ludwig always dined alone but the kitchen staff
  always had to set the table for 4 because of
  Ludwigs imaginary dinner guests, such as Marie
  Antoinette or Louis XV, whom he would talk to
• In June 1886, doctors declared him to be affected
  with chronic and incurable madness and he was
  pronounced incapable of governing, and was put
  under the care of a psychiatrist.
• Ludwigs brother Otto was next in throne, but
  because of Ottos history of mental illness, he
  was deemed unfit to be king.
• On l0 June, his uncle, Prince Luitpold, took over
  the throne

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• Ludwig was forced to stay at Castle Berg, with
  constant watch of psychiatrists and doctors.
• On June 13, while under watch from a
  psychiatrist, Ludwig asked the doctor if he could
  go for a walk along the shore of Lake Starnberg.
  The doctor accompanied him and they left the
  castle around 630pm. The doctor told the nurses
  that they would be back by 8pm.
• They never returned

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• All the castle staff searched for the doctor and
  Ludwig for 3 hours, until the bodies were found
  floating in the shallow water near the shore of
  Lake Starnberg.
• The watch that was still on Ludwigs wrist was
  stopped at 654

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• Ludwigs death was officially ruled as a suicide
  by drowning, but many believe it was not.
• Ludwig was known to be a strong swimmer, the
  water was less than waist-deep where his body was
  found, and the official autopsy report indicated
  that no water was found in his lungs.

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• The doctors body showed signs of strangulation
  and of a struggle, leading to the suspicion that
  he was strangled to death by Ludwig
• Many believed he was shot due to bullet holes
  found in the jacket he was wearing, but the
  autopsy report doesnt report any wounds on his
  body.
• Others believe he died of natural causes, such as
  a heart attack or a stroke, brought on from the
  extreme cold water of the lake, during an attempt
  to escape from the doctor.
• After a lavish funeral, his remains were brought
  to a crypt in Munich where there still are today.

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King Ludwigs Castles
The very castles which were said to be causing
the kings financial ruin have today become
extremely profitable tourist attractions for the
Bavarian state.
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Herrenchiemsee
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Herrenchiemsee

• Built on Herreninsel, an island on Chiemsee,
  which is Bavarias largest lake
• Inspired by Versailles Palace in Paris, including
  the Hall of Mirrors, which is larger than the one
  in Versailles
• Ludwig only stayed for a few days in 1885
• After his death, all construction work
  discontinued and the building was opened for the
  public

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Linderhof

• Located in Southwest Bavaria
• The smallest of Ludwigs castles and the only one
  Ludwig saw completed
• The inside design was inspired by Versailles
  Palace, with a smaller version of the Hall of
  Mirrors

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• Palace includes the Venus Grotto, which was
  inspired by the grotto of Capri from the first
  act of Wagners Tannhauser
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vIJUxHXN328w

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Schloss Neuschwanstein
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Neuschwanstein

• Located in Hohenschwangau, near Fussen in
  Southwest Bavaria
• Built as a retreat and a homage to Richard Wagner
• Ludwig paid for this palace with his own money,
  not from the state of Bavarias public funds

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Neuschwanstein

• Ludwig called this castle New Hohenschwangau
  Castle, but the name was changed to
  Neuschwanstein after his death
• Ludwig devoted the castle to the life and work of
  Richard Wagner
• Many rooms depict scenes from Wagners operas,
  such as Tristan und Isolde
• The interior of the castle is still not finished

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Works cited

• King Ludwig II of Bavaria lthttp//www.neuschwans
  tein.de/englisch/ludwig/biography.htm
• Ludwig II http//www.nndb.com/people/589/0001142
  47/
• Ludwig II The Swan King and His Castles
  lthttp//www.german-way.com/ludwig.htmlgt
• The Mysterious Death of the King
  lthttp//schwangau.de/646.0.htmlgt