King ludwig ii

1. King ludwig ii By Katelyn Martin (Katja)

2. Also known as the “Swan King,” “Mad King Ludwig,” “der Märchenkönig (the FairyTale King)

3. 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 King’s 1st cousin

4. Nymphenburg Palace

5. 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

6. King of Bavaria • March 10, 1863 • – • June 13, 1886

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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 Wagner’s debts and giving him a yearly income of 8000 gulden • Munich soon became the musical capital of Europe because Ludwig built theaters for Wagner’s operas. • Ludwig funded many of Wagner’s operas with money that belonged to the State of Bavaria. This led to the people of Bavaria forcing Ludwig to make Wagner leave Bavaria.

10. 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 Wagner’s "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)

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

15. Mad King Ludwig? • Ludwig always dined alone but the kitchen staff always had to set the table for 4 because of Ludwig’s 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. • Ludwig’s brother Otto was next in throne, but because of Otto’s history of mental illness, he was deemed unfit to be king. • On l0 June, his uncle, Prince Luitpold, took over the throne

16. 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 6:30pm. The doctor told the nurses that they would be back by 8pm. They never returned

17. 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 Ludwig’s wrist was stopped at 6:54

18. Ludwig’s 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.

19. The doctor’s 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 doesn’t 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.

20. King Ludwig’s Castles “The very castles which were said to be causing the king’s financial ruin have today become extremely profitable tourist attractions for the Bavarian state.”

21. Herrenchiemsee

22. Herrenchiemsee • Built on Herreninsel, an island on Chiemsee, which is Bavaria’s 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

23. Linderhof • Located in Southwest Bavaria • The smallest of Ludwig’s 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

24. Palace includes the Venus Grotto, which was inspired by the grotto of Capri from the first act of Wagner’s “Tannhauser” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJUxHXN328w

25. SchlossNeuschwanstein

26. 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 Bavaria’s public funds

27. Neuschwanstein • Ludwig called this castle New HohenschwangauCastle, 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 Wagner’s operas, such as Tristan und Isolde • The interior of the castle is still not finished

28. Works cited • “King Ludwig II of Bavaria” <http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/ludwig/biography.htm • “Ludwig II” http://www.nndb.com/people/589/000114247/ • Ludwig II: The Swan King and His Castles <http://www.german-way.com/ludwig.html> • “The Mysterious Death of the King” <http://schwangau.de/646.0.html>