MAD KING LUDWIG II

Intro
King Ludwig II of Bavaria grew up in his father's castle Hohenschwangau which brought on his obsession with castles that ultimately led to his downfall

CHILDHOOD

• Born on August 24, 1845 in Nymphenburg Palace
• Grew up in Schloss Hohenschwangau which brought about his obsession with castles

EARLY YEARS AS KING

• He became king of Bavaria when he was only 18
• At age 20, he lost Bavaria to Prussia

CASTLES

• King Ludwig II started building Schloss Linderhof in 1871
• It was finished in 1878 and was the only finished castle that he lived in
• All of his castles are still intact and available to tour

SCHLOSS HERRENCHIEMSEE

• This castle was built south of Munich on an island in Lake Herrenchiemsee
• It was meant to be a recreation of Versailles
• It was left unfinished

SCHLOSS NEUSCHWANSTEIN

• This was Ludwig's last and most famous castle standing at 213 feet
• It was designed as a cliff-top refuge for him
• It was also left unfinished and has only about 10 rooms complete

DOWNFALL

• Building these castles put Bavaria in a large amount of debt
• Government advisors started plotting ways to remove him from power
• In 1886, Ludwig was declared mentally insane and removed from the throne

LUDWIG'S DEATH

• His body was found in Lake Starnberg with the body of his psychiatrist Dr. Gudden
• His death is a mystery

IMPORTANT DATES

• Born on August 24, 1845
• Became King on March 10, 1864
• Bavaria became an annex of Prussia on July 26, 1866
• Declared mentally insane in June of 1886
• Died on June 13, 1886

ABSCHLUSS

• "Verrückt" König Ludwig II von Bayern verbrachte seine Kindheit in Schloss Hohenschwangauu, die seine Obsession mit Burgen verursacht.
• Er baute 3 Schlösser: Schloss Neuschwanstein, Schloss Linderhof und Schloss Herrenchiemsee.
• Er verbrachte alle Bayerns Geld für seine Burgen, die seine Berater verärgert.

ABSCHLUSS

• Die Berater bekam vier Psychiatern, ihn im Jahr 1886 verrückt zu erklären und zu zwingen ihn vom Thron.
• Später in diesem Jahr wurde seine Leiche im Starnberger See mit dem Körper seines Psychiater Dr. Gudden gefunden.
• Sein Tod wurde von Misstrauen und Geheimnis umgeben ist und niemand die wahre Ursache seines Todes kennt.

IMPORTANT FACTS

• He is also known as "The Swan King" or the "Fairytale King"
• Cinderella's castle in Disney World is modeled after Schloss Neuschwanstein
• He built an artificial cave in Schloss Neuschwanstein

IMPORTANT GERMAN WORDS

• Schloss - castle
• Verrückt - mad or insane
• König - King
• Bayern - southern Bavarian state
• Ludwig - famous war

SOURCES

• http://www.exploring-castles.com/ludwig_ii_of_bavaria.html