Cindy Doesn't Live Here Anymore October 28, 2006
Today we visited Schloss Neuschwanstein, which if you believe the local press, is the most famous castle in the world. Most of the world, at least at in the US, thinks of this castle as the Cinderella Castle, the one that Disney copied for its iconic bastion.
The castle is set on the edge of the Bavarian Alps and is a sight to behold. We reached it by taking a two hour train ride from Munich followed by a short bus ride and even after all of this we still had to walk up the mountain to actually reach the castle. You gotta want it.
The Schloss (castle), built by King Ludwig II, and started in 1869 was created to allow L II to recreate the world of German mythology immortalized in the operas of Richard Wagner. The castle walls are covered with paintings of scenes from these operas and L II even had a gaudy artificial grotto to recreate a scene from the Tannhauser. He was a Wagner patron and had him on the payroll until several of the ministers got together and fired Wagner because of his exorbitant expenses.
Ludwig II became King of Bavaria in 1864 at the age of 18. He was a sensitive soul and was said to certainly be the most beautiful sovereign alive. 6’ 5” tall, fair of skin with wavy dark hair he cut a dashing figure and was much loved by his people. Life became rocky for our hero when he called off his engagement to Sophia, sister to Austrian Empress Elizabeth. It was even rumored that he was gay.
Things change quickly in the king business; Bavaria lost its sovereignty in 1871 when the German Reich was formed under Bismark. L II became a puppet king and was given a hefty allowance to keep things down south under control. L II became reclusive spending his time drinking and drawing castle plans. Things got a little out of hand as the years went by and talk is L II had gone a little too far around the bend. When bankruptcy due to castle expenditures, he had started three by the early 1880s, began to become inevitable, several ministers and relatives deemed that it was necessary to “manage” the king. In January of 1886, a hasty psychiatric test was arranged and L II was declared unfit to rule and removed to Schloss Berg on Lake Starnberg. In June he and his doctor were walking on the lakeshore late in the evening. When they didn’t return a party went out to look for them but instead found the bodies of both the doctor and L II floating in the lake. It is reported the doctor was bruised and had a black eye. No report on L II’s condition was ever released. There are still many theories as to what happened that night but we will probably never know for sure.
Schloss Neuschwanstein, although never finished, is a bit of fairytale brought to reality. Unfortunately this tale did not have a happy ending. King Ludwig II spent only 170 days in residence before being removed. The castle, never completed, was opened to the public six weeks after his death.
The castle is set on the edge of the Bavarian Alps and is a sight to behold. We reached it by taking a two hour train ride from Munich followed by a short bus ride and even after all of this we still had to walk up the mountain to actually reach the castle. You gotta want it.
The Schloss (castle), built by King Ludwig II, and started in 1869 was created to allow L II to recreate the world of German mythology immortalized in the operas of Richard Wagner. The castle walls are covered with paintings of scenes from these operas and L II even had a gaudy artificial grotto to recreate a scene from the Tannhauser. He was a Wagner patron and had him on the payroll until several of the ministers got together and fired Wagner because of his exorbitant expenses.
Ludwig II became King of Bavaria in 1864 at the age of 18. He was a sensitive soul and was said to certainly be the most beautiful sovereign alive. 6’ 5” tall, fair of skin with wavy dark hair he cut a dashing figure and was much loved by his people. Life became rocky for our hero when he called off his engagement to Sophia, sister to Austrian Empress Elizabeth. It was even rumored that he was gay.
Things change quickly in the king business; Bavaria lost its sovereignty in 1871 when the German Reich was formed under Bismark. L II became a puppet king and was given a hefty allowance to keep things down south under control. L II became reclusive spending his time drinking and drawing castle plans. Things got a little out of hand as the years went by and talk is L II had gone a little too far around the bend. When bankruptcy due to castle expenditures, he had started three by the early 1880s, began to become inevitable, several ministers and relatives deemed that it was necessary to “manage” the king. In January of 1886, a hasty psychiatric test was arranged and L II was declared unfit to rule and removed to Schloss Berg on Lake Starnberg. In June he and his doctor were walking on the lakeshore late in the evening. When they didn’t return a party went out to look for them but instead found the bodies of both the doctor and L II floating in the lake. It is reported the doctor was bruised and had a black eye. No report on L II’s condition was ever released. There are still many theories as to what happened that night but we will probably never know for sure.
Schloss Neuschwanstein, although never finished, is a bit of fairytale brought to reality. Unfortunately this tale did not have a happy ending. King Ludwig II spent only 170 days in residence before being removed. The castle, never completed, was opened to the public six weeks after his death.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 12:22 PM
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