The King of Bavaria ( German : König von Bayern ) was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand years after the short-lived Carolingian kingdom of Bavaria .
93-706: Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King ( der Märchenkönig ), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine , Duke of Bavaria , Duke of Franconia , and Duke in Swabia . Outside Germany, he is at times called "the Mad King" or Mad King Ludwig . Ludwig ascended to
186-542: A Moorish kiosk, and an exotic tent. The roof was a technically advanced metal and glass construction. The winter garden was closed in June 1886, partly dismantled the following year, and demolished in 1897. In 1883, Ludwig planned the construction of a new castle on Falkenstein (Falcon Rock) near Pfronten in the Allgäu , a place he knew well: a diary entry for 16 October 1867 reads "Falkenstein wild, romantic". The first design
279-522: A Venus grotto lit by electricity, where Ludwig was rowed in a boat shaped like a shell. After seeing the Bayreuth performances, Ludwig built Hundinghütte (Hunding's Hut, based on the stage set of the first act of Wagner's Die Walküre ) in the forest near Linderhof, complete with an artificial tree and a sword embedded in it; in Die Walküre , Siegmund pulls the sword from the tree. Hunding's Hut
372-512: A breathtaking mountaintop site. The walls of Neuschwanstein are decorated with frescoes depicting scenes from the legends used in Richard Wagner's operas, including Tannhäuser , Tristan und Isolde , Lohengrin , Parsifal , and the somewhat less than mystic Die Meistersinger . In 1878, construction was completed on Ludwig's Linderhof Palace, an ornate palace in neo-French Rococo style, with handsome formal gardens. The grounds contained
465-419: A cause to depose Ludwig by constitutional means, the rebelling ministers decided on the rationale that he was mentally ill and unable to rule. They asked Ludwig's uncle, Prince Luitpold , to step into the royal vacancy once Ludwig was deposed. Luitpold agreed on condition the conspirators produced reliable proof that the king was in fact helplessly insane. Between January and March 1886, the conspirators assembled
558-534: A commoner in 1868. During his youth, Ludwig also initiated a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria , later Empress of Austria . Crown Prince Ludwig was in his 19th year when his father died after a three-day illness, and he ascended the Bavarian throne . Although he was not prepared for high office, his youth and brooding good looks made him popular in Bavaria and elsewhere. He continued
651-501: A cost of 97,300 marks. This was not due so much to misanthropy but rather as the King complained to the theatre actor-manager Ernst Possart, "I can get no sense of illusion in the theatre so long as people keep staring at me, and follow my every expression through their opera-glasses. I want to look myself, not to be a spectacle for the masses." Ludwig used his personal fortune, which was supplemented annually from 1873 by 270,000 marks from
744-411: A decision that has since been disputed. Today, his architectural and artistic legacy includes many of Bavaria's most important tourist attractions. Born at Nymphenburg Palace , which is located in what is today part of central Munich , he was the elder son of Maximilian II of Bavaria and Marie of Prussia , Crown Prince and Princess of Bavaria, who became King and Queen in 1848 after the abdication of
837-582: A democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germany . Around 548 the kings of the Franks placed the border region of Bavaria under the administration of a duke—possibly Frankish or possibly chosen from amongst the local leading families—who was supposed to act as a regional governor for the Frankish king. The first duke we know of, and likely the first, was Gariwald, or Garibald I , a member of
930-420: A discreet distance is not clear. The two men were last seen at about 6:30 pm; they were due back at 8 pm but never returned. After searches were made for more than two hours by the entire castle staff in a gale with heavy rain, at 10:30 pm that night, the bodies of both Ludwig and Gudden were found, head and shoulders above the shallow water near the shore. Ludwig's watch had stopped at 6:54. Gendarmes patrolling
1023-645: A duke of Bavaria but a margrave of Carinthia under the rule of Louis the Child. Frankish power had waned in the region due to Hungarian attacks, allowing the local rulers greater independence. Luitpold's son, Arnulf, claimed the title of duke (implying full autonomy) in 911 and was recognized as such by King Henry the Fowler of Germany in 920. From 947 until the 11th century, the kings of Germany repeatedly transferred Bavaria into different hands (including their own), never allowing any one family to establish itself. Bavaria
SECTION 10
#17327799694421116-485: A fifth tower constructed for it called Isolde and used the castle frequently as his summer residence. When Maria Alexandrovna , Empress of Russia , visited Berg in 1868, he had the castle magnificently decorated for the duration of her stay there; the castle otherwise, by his standards, was modestly furnished. Although Ludwig had paid for his pet projects out of his own funds and not the state coffers, that did not necessarily spare Bavaria from financial fallout. By 1885, he
1209-540: A grey Loden coat with two bullet holes in the back, asserting it was the one Ludwig had been wearing. King of Bavaria Under the terms of the Treaty of Pressburg concluded 26 December 1805 between French Emperor Napoleon and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II , several principalities allied to Napoleon were elevated to kingdoms . One of the staunchest of these had been the prince-elector of Bavaria, Maximilian IV Joseph, and on 1 January 1806, he assumed formally
1302-424: A life of seclusion that he pursued with various creative projects. He last inspected a military parade on 22 August 1875 and last gave a court banquet on 10 February 1876. His mother had foreseen difficulties for Ludwig when she recorded her concern for her extremely introverted and creative son who spent much time day-dreaming. These idiosyncrasies, combined with the fact that Ludwig avoided Munich and participating in
1395-615: A new Bavarian duchy, the short-lived Duchy of Bavaria-Leuchtenberg. In the chaos of the wars of the French Revolution , the old order of the Holy Roman Empire collapsed. In the course of these events, Bavaria became once again the ally of France, and Maximilian IV Joseph became King Maximilian I of Bavaria—whilst remaining Prince-Elector and Arch-steward of the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when
1488-626: A partial replica of the Palace of Versailles, sited on the Herreninsel in the Chiemsee . It was built as Ludwig's tribute to Louis XIV of France, the magnificent "Sun King". Only the central portion of the palace was built; all construction halted on Ludwig's death. What exists of Herrenchiemsee comprises 8,366 square metres (90,050 sq ft), a "copy in miniature" compared with Versailles' 551,112 ft. The following year, Ludwig finished
1581-417: A police detachment of 36 men who sealed off all entrances to the castle. Eventually, Ludwig decided he would try to escape, but he was too late. In the early hours of 12 June, a second commission arrived. Ludwig was seized just after midnight and at 4 am was taken to a waiting carriage. He asked Gudden, "How can you declare me insane? After all, you have never seen or examined me before", only to be told that "it
1674-509: A power struggle with King Conrad III of Germany , Henry X lost his duchy to the King, who granted it to his follower Leopold Margrave of Austria . In 1180, Henry XII the Lion and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor , fell out. The emperor consequently dispossessed the duke and gave his territory to Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach . From now on, Bavaria remained in
1767-667: A succession of close friendships with men, including his aide-de-camp the Bavarian prince Paul von Thurn und Taxis , chief equerry and master of the horse Richard Hornig, the Hungarian theater actor Josef Kainz , and courtier Alfons Weber. Letters from Ludwig reveal that the quartermaster of the royal stables, Karl Hesselschwerdt, acted as his male procurer . After 1871, Ludwig largely withdrew from politics and devoted himself to his personal creative projects, most famously his castles , for which he personally approved every detail of
1860-401: Is commonly thought) on these projects, borrowed extensively, and defied all attempts by his ministers to restrain him. This extravagance was used against him to declare him insane, an accusation that has since come under scrutiny. Ludwig was taken into custody and effectively deposed on 12 June 1886, and he and his doctor were found dead on the following day. His death was ruled to be a suicide,
1953-438: Is declared incapable of ruling, which incapacity will be not only for a year's duration, but for the length of Your Majesty's life." The men had never met the king, except for Gudden, only once, 12 years earlier, and none had ever examined him. Questions about the lack of medical diagnosis make the legality of the deposition controversial. Adding to the controversy are the mysterious circumstances under which King Ludwig died. Today,
SECTION 20
#17327799694422046-547: Is hereditary among the male descendants of the royal house according to the law of primogeniture and the agnatic lineal succession." The succession is further clarified by Title 5 of the Bavarian Royal Family Statute of 1819. In 1948 and 1949 Crown Prince Rupprecht , with the agreement of the other members of the house, amended the house laws to allow the succession of the sons of princes who had married into comital houses . In 1999 Duke Franz, with
2139-876: The Welfenfonds , to fund the construction of a series of elaborate castles. In 1867, he visited Eugène Viollet-le-Duc 's work at the Château de Pierrefonds and the Palace of Versailles in France, as well as the Wartburg near Eisenach in Thuringia , which largely influenced the style of his construction. In his letters, Ludwig marvelled at how the French had magnificently built up and glorified their culture (e.g., architecture, art, and music) and how miserably lacking Bavaria
2232-930: The Ärztliches Gutachten (Medical Report), on Ludwig's fitness to rule. Most of the details in the report were compiled by Count Maximilian von Holnstein , who was disillusioned with Ludwig and actively sought his downfall. Holnstein used bribery and his high rank to extract a long list of complaints, accounts, and gossip about Ludwig from among the king's servants. The litany of supposed bizarre behavior included his pathological shyness, his avoidance of state business, his complex and expensive flights of fancy, dining outdoors in cold weather and wearing heavy overcoats in summer, sloppy and childish table manners, dispatching servants on lengthy and expensive voyages to research architectural details in foreign lands, and violent threats of abuse to his servants. The degree to which these accusations were accurate may never be known. The conspirators approached Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , who doubted
2325-477: The Austro-Prussian War . King Ludwig II signed an alliance with Prussia on 22 August 1866, effectively relinquishing Bavarian independence. With the treaty of 23 November 1870 Bavaria was integrated into the new German Empire , but permitted a relatively large degree of self-determination . The Kings of Bavaria maintained their titles, and maintained separate diplomatic and military corps. When
2418-686: The Bavarian Army , which would come under Prussian command only in times of war. In December 1870, Bismarck used financial concessions to induce Ludwig, with the support of the king's equerry , Maximilian Count von Holnstein , to write the Kaiserbrief , a letter endorsing the creation of the German Empire with King Wilhelm I of Prussia as Emperor. Nevertheless, Ludwig regretted Bavaria's loss of independence and refused to attend Wilhelm's 18 January proclamation as German Emperor in
2511-671: The Bavarian dialect ). Unification with Prussia took center stage from 1866. In the Austro-Prussian War , which began in August, Ludwig's government supported the Austrian Empire against Prussia. Austria and Bavaria were defeated, and the Kingdom of Bavaria was forced to sign a mutual defence treaty with Prussia. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, Bavaria was required to fight alongside Prussia. After
2604-613: The German Revolution at the end of World War I . Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933), styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria , is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. The succession to the headship of the family is determined by Article 2 of Title 2 of the 1818 Constitution of the Kingdom of Bavaria, which states, "The crown
2697-658: The Landshut War (1503–1505), the Duke of Bavaria-Munich Albert IV the Wise became ruler of Bavaria. In 1506 Albert decreed that the duchy should pass according to the rules of primogeniture . In 1623 Maximilian I was granted the title Prince-elector (German: Kurfürst ) of the Rhenish Palatinate. (Note: Here the numbering of the dukes is the same for all duchies, as all were titled Dukes of Bavaria, despite
2790-594: The Palace of Versailles . Ludwig's brother Prince Otto and his uncle Luitpold went instead. In the Constitution of the German Empire , Bavaria was able to secure for itself extensive rights, in particular regarding military sovereignty. Not only did the Royal Bavarian Army retain, like the kingdoms of Saxony and Württemberg , its own troops, war ministry, and military justice system but
2883-672: The Tribschen residence for Wagner in Switzerland. Wagner completed Die Meistersinger there; it was premiered in Munich in 1868. When Wagner returned to his " Ring Cycle ", Ludwig demanded "special previews" of the first two works ( Das Rheingold and Die Walküre ) at Munich in 1869 and 1870. Wagner was now planning his great personal opera house – the Bayreuth Festspielhaus . Ludwig initially refused to support
Ludwig II of Bavaria - Misplaced Pages Continue
2976-409: The male line ) Prince Luitpold . The current line of succession to the headship of the family is: Bavarian throne The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria . Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings , partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties . Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 1949, Bavaria has been
3069-692: The Bavarian duchy. The dukes of Upper Bavaria served also as Counts Palatinate of the Rhine. In 1329 Louis IV released the Palatinate of the Rhine including the Bavarian Upper Palatinate to the sons of Rudolf I. The Upper Palatinate would be reunited with Bavaria in 1623, the Lower Palatinate in 1777. From 1349 until 1503 the second partition of Bavaria took place. In 1349, the six sons of Louis IV partitioned Bavaria into Upper and Lower Bavaria again. In 1353, Lower Bavaria
3162-626: The German Empire was abolished in November 1918 after the end of World War I , the last king of Bavaria, Ludwig III , was deposed. The title King of Bavaria is sometimes used in reference to Carolingian kings ruling over Bavaria. See List of monarchs of Bavaria for these. In the chaos of the wars of the French Revolution , the old order of the Holy Roman Empire collapsed. In the course of these events, Bavaria once again became an ally of France, and Maximilian IV Joseph abandoned his Electoral title — as there would soon be no Emperor to elect — for
3255-746: The Holy Roman Empire was abolished. In 1805 under the Peace of Pressburg between Napoleonic France and the Holy Roman Empire several duchies were elevated to kingdoms. The Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria held the title King of Bavaria from 1806 until 1918. The prince-elector of Bavaria, Maximilian IV Joseph formally assumed the title King Maximilian I of Bavaria on 1 January 1806. The well-known so called Märchenkönig (Fairy tale king) Ludwig II constructed Neuschwanstein Castle , Herrenchiemsee , and Linderhof Palace during his reign (1864–1886), threatening not only to go bankrupt in person, but also to bankrupt
3348-545: The Kelheimer (r. 1189–1231), although four Dukes of Bavaria had been called Louis before that. The same applies to Dukes called Otto, who are sometimes renumbered starting with Otto III, the first Wittelsbach Duke of Bavaria. The highest number has been used in this chart to minimise confusion, with one exception: Ludwig is the German for Louis, but Kings Ludwig I, II and III are not numbered XV, XVI and XVII. The colours denote
3441-576: The Kings of Bavaria. However, Otto was mentally ill since teenhood and throughout all of his later life, hence the royal functions had to be carried out by the following prince regents : Prince regent from 1912 until 1913. Declared King of Bavaria following a controversial change of the constitution, discharging his cousin Otto from "office". Lost the throne in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 at
3534-565: The Knight of the Swans. The family also visited Lake Starnberg (then called Lake Würm). As an adolescent, Ludwig began a relationship with his aide de camp , Prince Paul , a member of the wealthy Bavarian Thurn und Taxis family. The two young men rode together, read poetry aloud, and staged scenes from the Romantic operas of Richard Wagner . The friendship ended when Paul became engaged to
3627-677: The Prussian victory over the Second French Empire , Chancellor Otto von Bismarck moved to complete the unification of Germany . In November 1870, Bavaria joined the North German Confederation , thus losing its status as an independent kingdom; however, the Bavarian delegation under Minister President , Count Otto von Bray-Steinburg , secured privilleged status for Bavaria within the empire ( Reservatrechte ). Bavaria retained its own diplomatic corps and
3720-527: The Venus Grotto); and Schloß Herrenchiemsee (from 1873) 16,579,674 marks. In order to give an equivalent for the era, the British pound sterling , being the monetary hegemon of the time, had a fixed exchange rate (based on the gold standard ) at £1 = 20.43 Goldmarks . In 1868, Ludwig commissioned the first drawings for his buildings, starting with Neuschwanstein Castle and Herrenchiemsee ; work on
3813-469: The agreement of the other members of the house, amended the house laws further to allow the succession of the sons of any princes who married with the permission of the head of the house. Franz has never married. The heir presumptive to the headship of the House of Wittelsbach is his brother Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria . Because Max has five daughters but no sons, he is followed in the line of succession by his and Franz's first cousin (and second cousin in
Ludwig II of Bavaria - Misplaced Pages Continue
3906-408: The architecture, decoration, and furnishing. Ludwig was intensely interested in the operas of Richard Wagner . This interest began when Ludwig first saw Lohengrin at the impressionable age of 15, followed by Tannhäuser ten months later. Wagner's operas appealed to the king's fantasy-filled imagination. Wagner had a notorious reputation as a political radical and philanderer who was constantly on
3999-575: The best of European drama. Perfall, under Ludwig's supervision, introduced them to Shakespeare , Calderón , Mozart , Gluck , Ibsen , Weber , and many others. He also raised the standard of interpretation of Schiller , Molière , and Corneille . Between 1872 and 1885, the King had 209 Separatvorstellungen (private performances) given for himself alone or with a guest, in the two court theatres, comprising 44 operas (28 performances of Wagner's operas including eight of Parsifal ), 11 ballets, and 154 plays (the principal theme being Bourbon France) at
4092-422: The castle gate at gunpoint. In an infamous sideshow, the commissioners were attacked by the 47-year-old baroness Spera von Truchseß , out of loyalty to the king, who flailed at the men with her umbrella and then rushed to the king's apartments to identify the conspirators. Ludwig then had the commissioners arrested, but after holding them captive for several hours, released them. Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria
4185-413: The claim of hereditary insanity. At 4 am on 10 June 1886, a government commission including Holnstein and Gudden arrived at Neuschwanstein to deliver the document of deposition to King Ludwig formally and to place him in custody. Tipped off an hour or two earlier by a faithful servant, his coachman Fritz Osterholzer, Ludwig ordered the local police to protect him, and the commissioners were turned back from
4278-411: The claim of paranoia is not considered correct; Ludwig's behavior is rather interpreted as a schizotypal personality disorder , and he may also have suffered from Pick's disease during his last years, an assumption supported by a frontotemporal lobar degeneration mentioned in the autopsy report. Ludwig's only younger brother and successor, Otto, was considered insane, providing a convenient basis for
4371-550: The construction of the royal apartment in the Residenz Palace in Munich, to which he had added an opulent conservatory or winter garden on the palace roof. It was started in 1867 as quite a small structure, but after extensions in 1868 and 1871, the dimensions reached 69.5 x 17.2 x 9.5 m. It featured an ornamental lake complete with skiff, a painted panorama of the Himalayas as a backdrop, an Indian fisher-hut of bamboo,
4464-532: The country in the process. In 1918 Ludwig III lost his throne in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . Abdicated in the Revolutions of 1848 . Ludwig II was called the Märchenkönig (Fairy tale king). He grudgingly acceded to Bavaria becoming a component of the German Empire in 1871, was declared insane in 1886. From a mathematical, calendrical point of view, his marked the longest "reign" amongst
4557-463: The decades following his death in 840. The Frankish rulers controlled Bavaria as part of their possessions. Carloman 's bastard son, Arnulf of Carinthia , rebelled against Charles and took power in eastern Francia shortly before Charles' death. Ruled by an array of dukes from an array of rivaling houses, individually appointed to office. Luitpold, founder of the Luitpolding dynasty, was not
4650-433: The different parts of land and its particular numbering of the rulers. The dukes are numbered by the year of their succession.) In Lower Bavaria, the three brothers divided the land again in 1353: Stephen kept Landshut, William and Albert shared Straubing, and from 1389 the two shared Straubing also with Albert I's son, Albert II. Albert VI inherited from his wife the lands of Leuchtenberg, and from 1646 reorganizes them as
4743-483: The duchy to Henry VII, Count of Luxemburg, nephew of Henry V. After Henry VII's death, the dukedom was vacant for a couple of years. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor , then gave the duchy to Kuno, Count of Zütphen, in 1049. Kuno was deposed in 1053. During his reign in Bavaria Henry VIII was a minor (born 1050). In 1056 he became King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor as Henry IV in 1084. Abdicated. In
SECTION 50
#17327799694424836-537: The duchy to his own brother Henry (I), who was also Arnulf the Bad's son-in-law. Henry IV was elected as Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, who gave Bavaria to his brother-in-law Henry V , Count of Luxemburg in 1004. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor , King of Germany, gave Bavaria to his son Henry VI after the death of Henry V in 1026. Later Henry was elected as Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, and became King of Germany in 1039. In 1042, Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor , granted
4929-580: The end of World War I . Marks the end of 738 years of uninterrupted Wittelsbach rule over Bavaria. In 1918, at the end of the First World War in the German Revolution of 1918–1919, Bavaria became a democratic republic within the Weimar Republic ; the name for the period of Germany from 1919 to 1933. Since then, the heads of government of Bavaria have been ministers-president . Note that Dukes called Louis are usually numbered from Louis
5022-476: The former's father, Ludwig I , during the German revolution of 1848–1849 . His parents intended to name him Otto, but his grandfather insisted that his grandson be named after him, since their common birthday, 25 August, is the feast day of Saint Louis IX of France , patron saint of Bavaria (with Ludwig being the German form of Louis ). Like many young heirs in an age when kings governed most of Europe, Ludwig
5115-461: The government there at all costs, caused considerable tension with the king's government ministers but did not cost him popularity among the citizens of Bavaria. The king enjoyed traveling in the Bavarian countryside and chatting with farmers and labourers he met along the way. He also delighted in rewarding those who were hospitable to him during his travels with lavish gifts. He is still remembered in Bavaria as Unser Kini ("Our Cherished King" in
5208-455: The government under Minister-President Johann von Lutz publicly proclaimed Luitpold as Prince Regent. Ludwig's friends and allies urged him to flee, or to show himself in Munich, and thus regain the support of the people. Ludwig hesitated, instead issuing a statement, allegedly drafted by his aide-de-camp, Count Alfred Dürckheim , which was published by a Bamberg newspaper on 11 June: "The Prince Luitpold intends, against my will, to ascend to
5301-680: The grandiose project. When Wagner exhausted all other sources, he appealed to Ludwig, who loaned him 100,000 thalers to complete the work. Ludwig also paid for the Wahnfried villa for Wagner and his family to reside in, constructed 1872–74. In 1876, Ludwig attended the dress rehearsal and third public performance of the complete Ring Cycle at the Festspielhaus. Ludwig's interest in theatre was by no means confined to Wagner. In 1867, he appointed Karl von Perfall as director of his new court theatre. Ludwig wished to introduce Munich theatre-goers to
5394-431: The lake, where loyalists were waiting to help him escape. Lidl wrote, "As the king stepped up to his boat and put one foot in it, a shot rang out from the bank, apparently killing him on the spot, for the king fell across the bow of the boat." The autopsy report indicates that no scars or wounds were found on the body of the dead king. Many years later, Countess Josephine von Wrbna-Kaunitz would show her afternoon tea guests
5487-420: The latter did not commence until 1878. Neuschwanstein Castle (New Swanstone Castle) is a dramatic Romanesque fortress with soaring fairy-tale towers. It is situated on an Alpine crag above Ludwig's childhood home, Hohenschwangau Castle . Ludwig reputedly had seen the location and conceived of building a castle there while still a boy. In 1869, Ludwig oversaw the laying of the cornerstone for Neuschwanstein on
5580-651: The mountain road. Sold in 1891 and taken to Oberammergau , it was purchased by the government in 1980 and re-erected in the park at Linderhof after extensive restoration. Inside the palace, iconography reflected Ludwig's fascination with France's absolutist government of the Ancien Régime . Ludwig saw himself as the "Moon King", a Romantic shadow of the earlier "Sun King", Louis XIV of France . From Linderhof, Ludwig enjoyed moonlit sleigh rides in an elaborate 18th-century sleigh, complete with footmen in 18th-century livery . In 1878, construction began on Herrenchiemsee,
5673-517: The newspaper and handbills. Anton Sailer's pictorial biography of Ludwig contains a photograph of this rare document. The authenticity of the Royal Proclamation is doubted, as it is dated 9 June, before the commission arrived, it uses I instead of the royal We , and orthographic errors are included. As Ludwig dithered, his support waned. Peasants who rallied to his cause were dispersed, and the police who guarded his castle were replaced by
SECTION 60
#17327799694425766-453: The park had neither seen nor heard anything unusual. Ludwig's death was officially ruled a suicide by drowning; the official autopsy report indicated that no water was found in his lungs. Ludwig was a very strong swimmer in his youth, the water was approximately waist deep where his body was found, and he had not expressed suicidal feelings during the crisis. Gudden's body showed blows to the head and neck and signs of strangulation, leading to
5859-481: The possession of various branches of the family for 738 years until the end of the First World War. In 1253, on Otto II's death, Bavaria was divided between his sons. Henry became Duke of Lower Bavaria and Louis of Upper Bavaria. From this point until the beginning of the 16th century, the territories were frequently divided between brothers, making the dukes difficult to list. In Lower Bavaria , Henry XIII
5952-585: The powerful Agilolfing family. This was the beginning of a series of Agilolfing dukes that was to last until 788. The kings (later emperors) of the Franks now assumed complete control, placing Bavaria under the rule of non-hereditary governors and civil servants. They were not dukes but rather kings of Bavaria. Emperor Louis the Pious divided control of the Empire among his sons, and the divisions became permanent in
6045-662: The prestigious Munich Royal Court Theatre, which went on to become the Bavarian State Opera . A year after meeting the King, Wagner presented his latest work, Tristan und Isolde , in Munich to great acclaim. The composer's perceived extravagant and scandalous behaviour in the capital was unsettling for the conservative people of Bavaria, and the King was forced to ask Wagner to leave the city six months later, in December 1865. Ludwig considered abdicating to follow Wagner, but Wagner persuaded him to stay. Ludwig provided
6138-543: The reception. Ludwig never married nor had any known mistresses. His diary, private letters, and other documents reveal his strong homosexual desires, which he struggled to suppress to remain true to the teachings of the Catholic Church . Homosexuality had not been punishable in Bavaria since 1813, but the unification of Germany under Prussian hegemony in 1871 instated Paragraph 175 , which criminalized homosexual acts between males. Throughout his reign, Ludwig had
6231-413: The regency of my land, and my erstwhile ministry has, through false allegations regarding the state of my health, deceived my beloved people, and is preparing to commit acts of high treason. ... I call upon every loyal Bavarian to rally around my loyal supporters to thwart the planned treason against the King and the fatherland." The government succeeded in suppressing the statement by seizing most copies of
6324-490: The report was finalized and signed by a panel of four psychiatrists: Bernhard von Gudden , chief of the Munich Asylum; Hubert von Grashey (who was Gudden's son-in-law); and their colleagues, Friedrich Wilhelm Hagen and Max Hubrich. The report declared in its final sentences that the king suffered from paranoia and concluded, "Suffering from such a disorder, freedom of action can no longer be allowed and Your Majesty
6417-402: The report's veracity, calling it "rakings from the King's wastepaper-basket and cupboards". Bismarck commented after reading the report that "the Ministers wish to sacrifice the King, otherwise they have no chance of saving themselves". He suggested that the matter be brought before the Bavarian Diet and discussed there but did not stop the ministers from carrying out their plan. In early June,
6510-503: The run from creditors. On 4 May 1864, the 51-year-old Wagner was given an unprecedented 1¾ hour audience with Ludwig in the Munich Residenz . Later, the composer wrote of his first meeting with Ludwig, "Alas, he is so handsome and wise, soulful and lovely, that I fear that his life must melt away in this vulgar world like a fleeting dream of the gods." Ludwig was likely the savior of Wagner's career; without Ludwig, Wagner's later operas are unlikely to have been composed, much less premiered at
6603-576: The state policies of his father and retained his ministers. His real interests were in art, music, and architecture. One of the first acts of his reign, a few months after his accession, was to summon the composer Richard Wagner to his court. Also in 1864, he laid the foundation stone of a new Court Theatre, now the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz ( Gärtnerplatz -Theater). Ludwig was notably eccentric in ways that made serving as Bavaria's head of state problematic. He disliked large public functions and avoided formal social events whenever possible, preferring
6696-400: The suspicion that he was strangled, although no other evidence was found to support this. Another theory suggests that Ludwig died of natural causes, such as a heart attack or stroke , brought on by the cool water (12 °C) of the lake during an escape attempt. Speculation exists that Ludwig was murdered by his enemies while attempting to escape from Berg. One account suggests that Ludwig
6789-417: The throne in 1864 at the age of 18 but increasingly withdrew from day-to-day affairs of state in favour of extravagant artistic and architectural projects. He commissioned the construction of lavish palaces: Neuschwanstein Castle , Linderhof Palace , and Herrenchiemsee . He was also a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner . Ludwig spent all his own private royal revenues (although not state funds as
6882-615: The title King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria . He was a member of the Wittelsbach branch Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken . Maximilian's successors resisted German nationalism , and Bavaria became the protector of smaller states whose leaders felt threatened by Prussia or Austria in the German Confederation . Religious ties and the Upper German language linked the state more to Austria until their defeat in
6975-484: The title of King of Bavaria, becoming Maximilian I Joseph on 1 January 1806. Abdicated in the Revolutions of 1848 . Ludwig II was called the Märchenkönig (fairy-tale king). He acceded to Bavaria becoming a state of the German Empire in 1871, he was declared insane in 1886. Otto was mentally ill throughout his reign, and his functions were carried out by the following prince regents : Prince Regent from 1912 until 1913, then King of Bavaria, he lost his throne in
7068-555: The treatment of his royal patient. Following dinner, at around 6 pm, Ludwig asked Gudden to accompany him on a further walk, this time through the Schloß Berg parkland along the shore of Lake Starnberg. Gudden agreed; the walk may even have been his suggestion, and he told the aides not to join them. His words were ambiguous ( Es darf kein Pfleger mitgehen , "No attendant may walk with [us]"). Whether they were meant to follow at
7161-429: The uniform cut, equipment, and training was standardised to the Prussian model. When field-grey uniforms were introduced, only the cockade and a blue-and-white lozenge edging to the collar distinguished Bavarian units. The greatest stress of Ludwig's early reign was the pressure to produce an heir, and this issue came to the forefront in 1867. Ludwig became engaged to Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria , his cousin and
7254-579: The wedding date and finally cancelled the engagement in October. After the engagement was broken off, Ludwig wrote to his former fiancée, "My beloved Elsa! Your cruel father has torn us apart. Eternally yours, Heinrich." The names Elsa and Heinrich came from characters in Wagner's opera Lohengrin . Sophie later married Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon , grandson of French King Louis Philippe I , at Possenhofen Castle at which Ludwig II unexpectedly attended
7347-405: The youngest sister of his dear friend, Empress Elisabeth of Austria . The engagement was announced on 22 January 1867. They shared a deep interest in the works of Richard Wagner; a few days prior to their engagement announcement, Ludwig had written to Sophie, "The main substance of our relationship has always been … Richard Wagner's remarkable and deeply moving destiny." Ludwig repeatedly postponed
7440-463: Was 14 million marks in debt and had borrowed heavily from his family. Rather than economizing, as his financial ministers advised him, he planned further opulent designs without pause. He demanded that loans be sought from all of Europe's royalty and remained aloof from matters of state. Feeling harassed and irritated by his ministers, he considered dismissing the entire cabinet and replacing them with fresh faces. The cabinet decided to act first. Seeking
7533-694: Was a sketch by Christian Jank in 1883 "very much like the Townhall of Liège ". Subsequent designs showed a modest villa with a square tower, along with a small Gothic castle. By 1885, a road and water supply had been provided at Falkenstein, but the old ruins remained untouched. Ludwig proposed a Byzantine palace in the Graswangtal, and a Chinese summer palace by the Plansee in Tyrol . These projects never got beyond initial plans. For Berg Castle , Ludwig had
7626-761: Was continually reminded of his royal status. King Maximilian II wanted to instruct both of his sons in the burdens of royal duty from an early age. Ludwig was both extremely indulged and severely controlled by his tutors and subjected to a strict regimen of study and exercise. Some point to the stresses of growing up in a royal family as cause for much of his odd behaviour as an adult. Ludwig was not close to either of his parents. King Maximilian's advisers had suggested that on his daily walks he might like, at times, to be accompanied by his future successor. The King replied, "But what am I to say to him? After all, my son takes no interest in what other people tell him." Later, Ludwig would refer to his mother as "my predecessor's consort". He
7719-466: Was destroyed in 1945, but a replica was constructed at Linderhof in 1990. In 1877, Ludwig had Einsiedlei des Gurnemanz (a small hermitage, as seen in the third act of Parsifal ) erected near Hunding's Hut, with a meadow of spring flowers; a replica made in 2000 can now be seen in the park at Linderhof. Nearby, a Moroccan House, purchased at the Paris World Fair in 1878, was erected alongside
7812-594: Was excluded from the empire-wide regimental renumbering of the army regiments and would only come under imperial control in times of war. Bavaria also kept its light-blue infantry uniforms, the Raupenhelm (until 1886), the light cavalry, and some other peculiarities. The officers and men of the Bavarian Army continued to swear their oaths to the King of Bavaria and not the German Emperor. Nevertheless,
7905-516: Was far closer to his grandfather, the deposed and notorious King Ludwig I. Ludwig's childhood years did have happy moments. He lived for much of the time at Hohenschwangau Castle , a fantasy castle his father had built near the Alpsee (Alp Lake) near Füssen . It was decorated in the Gothic Revival style with many frescoes depicting heroic German sagas, most notably images of Lohengrin ,
7998-487: Was in comparison. His dream became to accomplish the same for Bavaria. These projects provided employment for many hundreds of local labourers and artisans and brought a considerable flow of money to the relatively poor regions where his castles were built. Figures for the total costs between 1869 and 1886 for the building and equipping of each castle were published in 1968: Schloß Neuschwanstein 6,180,047 marks; Schloß Linderhof 8,460,937 marks (a large portion being expended on
8091-495: Was partitioned into Bavaria-Landshut and Bavaria-Straubing . Upper Bavaria was partitioned between Bavaria-Straubing and Bavaria-Landshut in 1363. After the death of Stephan II in 1392, Bavaria-Landshut was broken into three duchies, John II gained Bavaria-Munich , Frederick, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut received a smaller Bavaria-Landshut, and in Bavaria-Ingolstadt ruled Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria . Following
8184-468: Was ruled by a series of short-lasting, mostly unrelated dynasties. In 1070, Emperor Henry IV deposed Duke Otto, granting the duchy instead to Welf I , a member of the Italo-Bavarian family of Este . Welf I subsequently quarreled with King Henry and was deprived of his duchy for nineteen years, during which it was directly administered by the German crown. Welf I recovered the duchy in 1096, and
8277-537: Was shot. His personal fisherman, Jakob Lidl (1864–1933), stated, "Three years after the king's death I was made to swear an oath that I would never say certain things – not to my wife, not on my deathbed, and not to any priest … The state has undertaken to look after my family if anything should happen to me in either peacetime or war." Lidl kept his oath, at least orally, but left behind notes that were found after his death. According to Lidl, he had hidden behind bushes with his boat, waiting to meet Ludwig, to row him out into
8370-474: Was succeeded by his sons Welf II and Henry IX—the latter was succeeded by his son Henry X, who also became Duke of Saxony . Arnulf the Bad claimed the title of duke—implying full autonomy—in 911, and was recognized as such by King Henry the Fowler in 920. The German King Otto I reasserted central authority, banishing Arnulf's son Eberhard and re-granting the title to Berthold, a younger son of Luitpold. On Berthold's death, Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor , gave
8463-408: Was succeeded by his three sons, Otto III, Louis III, and Stephen I ruling jointly. Otto III's successor in the joint dukedom was his son Henry XV. Stephen's successors were his sons Otto IV and Henry XIV. Henry XIV's son was John I. In Upper Bavaria , Louis II was succeeded by his sons Rudolf I and Louis IV. The latter was elected King of Germany in 1314. After John I's death in 1340, Louis IV unified
8556-404: Was the only member of the royal family who always remained on friendly terms with his cousin (with the exception of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria), so Ludwig II wrote him a telegram; the latter immediately intended to follow this call but was prevented from leaving his home at Nymphenburg Palace by his uncle Luitpold, who was about to take over government as the ruling Prince Regent. That same day,
8649-452: Was unnecessary; the documentary evidence [the servants' reports] is very copious and completely substantiated. It is overwhelming." Ludwig was transported to Berg Castle on the shores of Lake Starnberg , south of Munich. On the afternoon of the next day, 13 June 1886, Gudden accompanied Ludwig on a stroll in the grounds of Berg Castle. They were escorted by two attendants. On their return, Gudden expressed optimism to other doctors concerning
#441558