Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Mad or Just Eccentric? Michael Streich

The royal palaces of Ludwig II of Bavaria represented the king’s fantasy life and provided a retreat from the real world for a man historian Paola Calore equates with a narcissistic personality. Unlike the other great castles and palaces build by 18^th and 19^th century kings and queens, Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee never hosted official state functions. These extensions of Ludwig’s fantasy life demonstrated his infatuation with Louis XIV and France as well as old German legends and Nordic sagas. Neuschwanstein particularly conformed to the images brought to life by the operas of Richard Wagner over which the king obsessed. This was Ludwig’s tribute to the Holy Grail, a fitting resting place for his wandering soul.

 

Ludwig’s Early Life

 

Born into the Wittelsbach ruling family in 1845, Ludwig was never prepared to become king at the age of 18. His Prussian mother spent little time with him while his father attended to affairs of state. Influenced by the forests and mountains surrounding the family estate at Hohenschwangau, legendary home of medieval knights, Ludwig withdrew into his own world.

 

According to his mother, Queen Marie, Ludwig, as a child, developed an interest in art, enjoyed building, and “loved dressing up as a nun.” Unlike his younger brother Otto who played with tin soldiers, Ludwig preferred to read and became particularly interested in the Gothic romanticism of Sir Walter Scott. He admired William Tell and as a teen began to read Richard Wagner’s libretti for Lohengrin and Tannhauser. Shy, introspective, and hypersensitive, Ludwig hated to be touched by others.

 

Ludwig’s “Sacred Places”

 

Ludwig became king of Bavaria at 18 following the unexpected death of his father Max. It was a time of war as Bismarck was beginning the process of German unification. Unprepared for political leadership, Ludwig retreated whenever possible into his dream world, beginning the construction of Neuschwanstein castle September 5, 1869. In conjunction with his Wagnerian infatuation, Ludwig’s Romanesque castle would glorify the old German legends of Parsifal and Lohengrin, the latter a mythical knight of the Swan.

 

This “temple dedicated to Wagnerian creativity,” according to one historian, became Ludwig’s private fantasy retreat. The Festival Hall was a recreation of the Room of the Bards at the Wartburg Castle. The walls were filled with symbols and images of Germanic legend. Days before his death on September 5, 1869, Ludwig requested that his sacred places, so named by Cabinet Secretary Friedrich von Ziegler, be destroyed after he died.

 

Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee

 

Both Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee were Ludwig’s monuments to his idol, Louis XIV of France, the “Sun King.” The smallest of Ludwig’s castles, Linderhof was the only one completed before his death. Modeled on Versailles, Linderhof was Ludwig’s private place of retreat where he could relive the past. Paintings throughout the palace glorify court life at Versailles as well as the men and women that dominated court life both under Louis XIV and Louis V.

 

Ancillary structures added to the ambience. The grotto was a tribute to the Mount of Venus and may have been influenced by the Blue Grotto of Capri. The Moorish Kiosk reflected an Arabian influence. One of Ludwig’s never-begun projects included a Byzantine Palace.

 

Herrenchiemsee represented Ludwig’s attempt to reproduce Versailles. Like Linderhof, the underlying ideological foundation was royal absolutism. This is best seen in the construction of the 300-foot grand gallery of mirrors, a reproduction of the famous Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. In both palaces, the king’s bed chamber served as the central room, conforming to the life of Louis XIV. The staircase in the southern wing of the palace is an exact reproduction of the Ambassador’s Staircase at Versailles.

 

Death of Ludwig

 

In 1886 Ludwig was deposed and declared mentally incompetent. Several days later, he mysteriously drowned in Lake Starnberg. Neuschwanstein was opened as a museum three days after his death.

 

Sources:

 

Wilfred Blunt, The Dream King: Ludwig II of Bavaria (Viking Press, 1970)

Paola Calore, “Neuschwanstein,” Royal Palaces (Barnes & Noble Books, 2006)

Christopher McIntosh, Ludwig II of Bavaria: The Swan King (Barnes & Noble Books, 1982)

“Royal Castles of Ludwig II,” German Embassy video, West Glen Communications