MAD KING LUDWIG

A BAD BAVARIAN? (PRESENT-DAY GERMANY)

REIGN: 1864–1886

FATHER: Maximilian II / MOTHER: Marie

SUCCESSOR: Otto

OTHER NAMES: The Fairytale King, the Swan King, the Dream King

WHAT WAS SO TERRIBLE ABOUT LUDWIG?

He spent all of his kingdom’s money and then started borrowing from others to satisfy his obsession for building castles. He definitely had some peculiar behaviors. But he may have been more of a victim than a villain.

A LONELY BOY

By all accounts, Ludwig had an unhappy childhood. He spent more time with governesses and tutors than his parents. He liked playing make-believe games and lived in a world of his imagination. He became King of Bavaria when he was just eighteen.

LIVING IN A DREAM

Ludwig wasn’t exactly born in the wrong place, but he may have been born in the wrong time. It’s said that he found his own time boring and often wished he could have been king in an earlier time—like maybe around the time of King Arthur. He loved the story of the Holy Grail and he loved medieval times in Germany. He also loved France during the reign of Louis XIV. He liked the idea of being the “Moon King,” a kind of alter ego to Louis XIV’s “Sun King.” That might explain why he usually slept during the day and traveled under cover of darkness. Sometimes Ludwig would even wear historical costumes as his carriage rolled through the night, pretending to be a king of a bygone era!

Ludwig was a supporter of the arts and invited musicians and opera singers to perform at his castles. Strangely, at these performances, he was typically the only audience member. He especially loved the operas by Richard Wagner. He became Wagner’s biggest fan. Wagner even wrote the opera “Parsifal” for Ludwig. It’s based on the story of King Arthur, one of Ludwig’s favorites. Ludwig was such a supporter of Wagner’s that he lent him a lot of money and ended up going into debt himself to get Wagner out of financial trouble.

Ludwig didn’t like the actual job of being king, though. His advisors complained that he didn’t really read the paperwork they gave him. Because he’d been distracted with his personal interests, Ludwig didn’t take a strong stand on issues. For example, during his reign, many German kingdoms became unified into one empire, with Ludwig’s uncle as emperor. Although many of his advisors disagreed, Ludwig signed a letter joining the new German empire. This wasn’t a very popular decision, although, realistically, he didn’t have much of a choice.

OUT OF MONEY, OUT OF TIME

Ludwig used up his personal money by building castles. Then he used the government’s money to keep building more castles. After that ran out, he borrowed money from other European royal families, something his government found particularly embarrassing. When he couldn’t pay his debts back, foreign banks threatened to seize the castles built with borrowed money.

Ludwig racked up debt that would be in the tens of millions of dollars today, but he was still working on plans for new castles. His cabinet of advisors finally thought enough was enough and told him so. He said he’d fire them all, and that if they didn’t let him complete his projects, he’d kill himself. That’s when his advisors decided to take action.

The king’s advisors hired a psychiatrist, not to really find out whether Ludwig was insane, but to confirm their belief that he was. After all, madness was said to run in the family (Ludwig’s brother Otto had been kept from the public eye most of his life because he was believed to be mad).

The psychiatrist didn’t even meet with the king before giving his diagnosis. He took secret notes from servants and met with aides at night behind Ludwig’s back. What he heard wasn’t terribly bad. Ludwig insisted on eating outside regardless of the weather. He refused milk in his coffee. He had threatened to have a servant deported to America. The psychiatrist determined that Ludwig suffered from paranoia. He declared that Ludwig was incapable of ruling. “He is teetering like a blind man without guidance on the verge of a precipice,” the psychiatrist wrote.

Declaring the king insane wasn’t really something that was allowed under the country’s constitution, but the cabinet did it anyway. They took action very quickly, perhaps to make sure Ludwig couldn’t object, and on June 10, 1886, Ludwig was abducted by members of his government and locked away in Berg Palace as a madman.

BAVARIAN MURDER MYSTERY

Ludwig was found dead by the side of Lake Starnberg on June 13, 1886, along with the body of the psychiatrist who had diagnosed him. Court officials said that the idea of having his kingdom taken away drove him to suicide. But did Ludwig really kill himself? People have been trying to answer that question for more than one hundred years.

Some said that Ludwig murdered his doctor and then drowned himself. Some say Ludwig didn’t drown—he was thought to be a strong swimmer, and reports said there was no water found in his lungs. Fishermen on the lake reported hearing shots at the time of Ludwig’s death. Some say that Ludwig was murdered and that the psychiatrist was shot because he was a witness to the heinous crime. It’s possible that we’ll never really know how Ludwig met his fate.

THE SWAN KING’S CASTLES

Ludwig’s castles were his life’s work. They were inspired by legends, fairy tales, and the major palaces and castles of other rulers who Ludwig admired. Although there were more, these three are the most famous.

Schloss Neuschwanstein

This might be the most famous castle in the world. Nestled in the Bavarian Alps, it really does look like something from a fairy tale, with tall, thin towers of different heights. It took over two decades to build and actually wasn’t even finished in Ludwig’s lifetime. Inside, the castle is decorated with frescos that illustrate medieval stories as well as the story of the Swan Knight from Parsifal, the opera Wagner wrote for Ludwig. To try to earn back the money spent on the castle, the government opened it to visitors just a few weeks after Ludwig’s death, even though it wasn’t finished. Neuschwanstein is said to be the inspiration for the Cinderella castles at the Disney theme parks.

Schloss Herrenchiemsee

Because he admired Louis XIV so much, Ludwig modeled this castle after the Palace of Versailles (located outside of Paris). Like Versailles, its lavishly decorated interior features crystal chandeliers, brocade fabrics, frescoed ceilings, and a hall of mirrors. The gardens are designed like French gardens, with fountains and walking paths.

Schloss Linderhof

This castle is inspired by the palaces of eighteenth-century France. There’s a lake in the front with a fountain and golden statue at its center. It’s the smallest of Ludwig’s castles and the only one finished before he died.

Ludwig’s Legacy

While they were places of retreat and solitude during his time, Ludwig’s castles are now among the most visited tourist attractions in Europe, with millions of visitors each year. Even though they resulted in great debts in his lifetime, now the castles are big money makers.

Although he died more than a century ago, new theories on his death continue to surface. We’ll probably never know the truth about Ludwig’s life and death. Ludwig is reported to have said to his nanny: “I want to remain an eternal mystery to myself and others.” That has certainly come to pass.

IF YOU HAD LIVED IN LUDWIG’S TIME… YOU MIGHT HAVE:

been among the first to have electric lights (if you were wealthy, that is)

completed your education after eight years in school

known someone who had immigrated to the United States (if you hadn’t done so yourself)