Austria
The Splendid Castles of the Bavarian "Mad King Ludwig"
Castles of the Mad Ludwig - Although he died at age 42 before they all could be completed, King Ludwig's castles are Austria's most magnificent.
By Alan Hoskins
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He was known variously as the Swan King, the Mad King of Bavaria, the Dream King and the Mad Ludwig.
Whether he was actually "mad" and his mysterious death at the age of just 42 have been a matter of conjecture for well over a century.
But there is no question that King Ludwig II left a legacy for centuries to come - along with some of the world's most magnificent castles.
Like a lot of youngsters, I grew up with a fascination for castles, a fascination that as an adult has taken me to castles in Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany and finally the Ludwig castles of Austria.
Climbing the many steps to the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle is literally a trip into Disney World for Neuschwanstein was one of the castles Walt Disney used as a model for the Magic Kingdom. But it's more than a kid's fantasy land.
That it was never completed because of Ludwig's untimely death added to the legacy of the castle although the King actually had lived in it for a short period.
Because of its location high atop one of the Bavarian Alps, shuttle buses or horse-drawn carriages are needed to get to the castle and even then there's a bit of a hike - and 300 more steps to the top once inside the castle. Built upward rather than outward, the steps take you into room after room filled with lavish costumes, suits of armor, swords and lances, opulent furniture, paintings, sculptures and other works of art.
A step into a past, I had the overwhelming feeling that I had been taken back in time to a place of splendor beyond imagination and what a fantastic place to have grown up as a kid.
But the splendor is not confined to the interior. In addition to the ornate rooms, the castle provides a stunning panoramic view of the surrounding countryside on three sides and a breathtaking look at a swinging bridge high above a deep gorge on the fourth. The swinging bridge can be reached by foot and provides one of the castle's most sunning views.
As one of the most legendary figures in Bavarian and German history, Ludwig's extravagances such as Neuschwanstein castle and his other castles have become one of the biggest tourist draws in all of Europe - as well as a vital source of income for the state of Bavaria.
That he should die of drowning under mysterious circumstance just three days after being declared legally insane; his latent homosexuality and his patronage of famed composer Richard Wagner have all contributed to the Ludwig legend.
Born Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm, Ludwig was not 19 years of age when he ascended to the Bavarian throne upon the death of his father in 1864. Possessed by the idea of a holy kingdom by the Grace of God, his reign suffered a huge setback two years later when he was forced by the Bavarian government to go to war on the losing Austrian side in the Seven Weeks War against Prussia.
Already shy, he left Munich for the Bavarian Alps where he would build three castles - Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenschiemsee - and a wooden mountain retreat called Schachen. A fourth castle, Falkenstein, was planned but never built. Built beyond the private means of a king, foreign banks began threatening to seize his property in 1885 and his refusal to react rationally led the government to declare him insane.
Incredibly, the four doctors who declared him insane had never seen him in person let alone performed a medical examination on him.
It was also learned later that a big enterprise outside Bavaria offered Ludwig a huge loan to finish his castles but it was never passed on to him.
Interned in Berg Palace south of Munich, he was found drown with the psychiatrist who had certified him as insane in a few inches of water in Lake Starnberg.
Whether he was "helped" in the drowning has long been debated - as has his sanity. "He was not insane, just eccentric," says Ilona Brenner, one of Germany's leading tour guides and an expert on Ludwig. "The reason he was declared mentally insane had nothing to do with the castles. It started out much earlier with the fact that he wanted nothing but peace for his country. He detested war, lies and the usual political intrigues."
Ludwig would be forced into yet another unfortunate war against France 1870-71 and even though the united armies of all the German states defeated the French, Ludwig took no pleasure in the win because the Prussians chose to crown their King William the emperor of Germany in Versaille, the magnificent castle outside Paris. Ludwig's disgust that the Prussians would further humiliate the vanquished French that he was the only German ruler not at the ceremony.
Ludwig's eccentricity, however, has given the world three of its most picturesque castles although only one of the three was finished during Ludwig's life, Linderhof . All are within easy driving distance from Munich near the Bavarian border between Germany and Austria.
NEUSCHWANSTEIN - Surely the most famous castle in the world because of its likeness to the Walt Disney castles in Disneyland and Disney World, its beauty is further accentuated by its location high atop one of the Bavarian Alps.
Construction lasted 23 years, until long after Ludwig's death although the King did spend 11 nights in his dream castle in 1884. Quite unlike any real medieval castle, Newschwanstein was equipped with the best technology available in the late 1860s including a forced-air central heating system, a rarely-used kitchen of the most advanced design and a winter garden featuring a sliding glass door.
Starting as a boy, Ludwig had a life-long love of swans and their regal beauty and the castle has numerous swan icons including a life-size porcelain swan hence the name Neuschwanstein ("new swan stone"). Built on the ruins of an old castle, Ludwig named it "Neue Burg Hohenschwangau" (New Castle Hohenschwangau) but when it was opened just weeks after his death, it became known as Neuschwanstein.
One of the many ironies of the castle is that it was built to be a private refuge and yet an estimated 50 million people have visited since Ludwig's death. Other ironies: Although built largely as a stage for Wagnerian productions, composer Richard Wagner never set foot in Neuschwanstein. Nor was the castle's throne room completed in time to contain a throne.
Located about 1 ½ hours from Munich, regular tours from Munich to Neuschwanstein are available. Tours of the castle are by guide only - but then you wouldn't want it any other way.
LINDERHOF - The only castle to be completed before Ludwig's death, Linderhof sits in the mountains south of Munich, nestled in the same valley in which the Romans first crossed the Alps. It was Ludwig's intention to build a palace modeled on Versailles but instead the new castle was developed around a forester's house belonging to his father, Maximilian II, and was used by the king when the crown prince went on hunting expeditions with his father.
Finished in 1879 although Ludwig did not live to see the completion of a new bedroom which was the last of many rebuilding phases, Linderhof provides a spectacular look at the splendor and lavishness one would expect from a castle of such magnitude.
Fronted by a large picturesque pool and fountain, the castle is reached by a pleasant 10-minute walk through a beautiful park. Like Neuschwanstein, Linderhof can only be seen by a guided tour but make sure and leave time for a walk through a garden behind the castle. Featuring a grotto and small lake where Ludwig listened to Wagner operas, it takes you back to the late 19th Century.
HERRENCHIEMSEE - Built on an island in Lake Chiemsee south of Munich, it can be reached only by ferry, which also stops in Frauenchiemsee which has an old nunnery with an exciting Roman gate.
Inhabited mainly by fishermen (the fish is highly recommended), the island itself is very picturesque and once on the island, the castle is easily reached by foot or horse-drawn carriage.
In a show of saneness, Ludwig bought the island after learning a big timber enterprise wanted it to cut down the forests that covered it. When Ludwig learned of the plan, he used his own money to save the forests and an old monastery named Herrenchiemssee. As a result, the island still looks much like it did more than a century ago and is still in possession of Bavaria.
Incidentally, contrary to popular legend, Ludwig's building projects were financed from the King's own funds and did not bankrupt the Bavarian treasury.
SCHACHEN - A marked contrast to the castles, Schachen is strictly for mountain climbers or hikers. Requiring a 2-3 hour hike up hill to a typical wooden mountain home, the ground floor is furnished quite simply but the main floor offers splendor beyond description.
Copyright © 2001