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Ludwig II of Bavaria
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Ludwig II of Bavaria

Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm von Wittelsbach or Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as Ludwig the Mad, Mad King Ludwig, and Louis II (French form of his name). (August 25, 1845 - June 13, 1886) was king of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886.

Table of contents
1 Life
2 Ludwig and the arts
3 Ludwig in fiction
4 External links

Life

Born at Nymphenburg (today part of Munich), he was the son of Maximilian II of Bavaria and Princess Marie of Prussia. Ludwig ascended to the Bavarian throne at age 18 following his father's death. He was by all accounts strange to begin with, and as his rule progressed, he became even more antisocial and withdrew into seclusion in the Alps most of the time, where he built several expensive fairytale castles. The most famous, Neue Burg Hohenschwangau (now known as Neuschwanstein), was not completed until years after his death, and is now a popular tourist attraction.

Ludwig was engaged to Princess Sophie of Bavaria who was his cousin and sister of Elisabeth of Austria ("Sissi"). Their engagement was publicized on January 22, 1867, but after having repeatedly postponed the wedding date, he finally cancelled it in October. Sophie later married Ferdinand Philippe Marie, duc d'Alençon (1844-1910), son of Louis Charles Philippe Raphael, duc de Nemours.

Shortly before the end of his life, he was officially declared insane and incapable of executing his governmental powers. Many historians, however, believe, that he was sane, but victim of an intrigue.

Mystery surrounds his death by drowning in Lake Starnberg in Berg, south of Munich. A little chapel was later built near the site of his drowning. A remembrance ceremony is held there each year on the anniversary of his death.

Ludwig is remembered as one of the most unusual rulers of Germany, and the debate about how to judge him is ongoing even today. It seems that he was quite popular among his subjects, probably due to two reasons: First, he avoided engaging in war, giving Bavaria a time of peace. (Whether this was due to him being pacifistic, or simply due to his uninterest in political power is debated). Second, he funded the construction of his famous fairy-tale castles from his family's private property, not from the state budget. This gave many people employment and brought a considerable flow of money to the regions involved. Hence, he is still remembered in Bavaria as "unser Kini" (our king), which is meant quite cordially (although now often also jocular).

Of course, his spending of the family's wealth for art and architecture likely upset his relatives, and it was hence often suspected, that his death was not an accident. (This was never proven, but the fact that he was known to be a good swimmer, as well as that the lake was less than waist-deep at the area where he drowned, seems to support the suspicion.)

Ludwig and the arts

Ludwig was a major patron of composer Richard Wagner, and he funded the construction of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Castles include:

Ludwig left behind a large collection of plans and designs for other castles that were never built, as well as plans for further rooms in his completed buildings. Many of these designs are housed today in the King Ludwig II Museum at Herrenchiemsee. These buildings date from the later part of the King's reign, beginning around 1883. As money was starting to run out, the designs became more extravagant, and numerous.

Only one of these castles had a known name, Castle Falkenstein also designed by Christian Jank who designed Neuschwanstein.

Ludwig in fiction

The 1972 movie Ludwig, directed by Luchino Visconti was based on his life. His past (both real-life and a fictional version) also features heavily in the computer game Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within.

See also: List of rulers of Bavaria

External links