King 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.
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's apologists explain that much of his 'unusual' behaviour was caused by the stress of growing up in a royal family, comparing it to the problems that modern royals like those in the House of Windsor have experienced.
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 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
