King Ludwig II of Bayern and his enchanted castles

King Ludwig II of Bayern and his enchanted castles

King Ludwig II of Bayern is one of the most ingenious and controversial rulers of our time and has become historically famous for his architectural projects built across Germany.

During his short life, he was considered a fool and a dreamer, an eccentric man submitted to his expensive artistic excesses, and eventually leading his reign to bankruptcy.

He rose to power in 1864, when he was eighteen. His young and handsome features made him popular in Bayern and abroad. He attracted people’s attention because, far from being an ordinary king, he showed his passion for art, fine architecture and music: his intellectual bond with the composer Richard Wagner is well known.

He loved surrounding himself with beautiful and precious things which gave him a wider perspective, driving him towards multiculturalism and various European influences.

His brilliant and atypical mind was faced with his grey contemporaneity. In spite of his potentialities as a patron, modern and illuminated king, he was accused of mental infirmity and arrested in 1886, when he was declared unable to carry out his government duties.

According to recent studies, nobody has confirmed his disease, even if, at the age of just over forty, he looked much older, because he was obese, diabetic and almost without any teeth left.

His unique illnesses led to an overall misunderstanding, incommunicability and loneliness. He imagined a different world, dominated by the power of beauty and arts, rich in shared cultures and stylistic contaminations, but his contemporaries didn’t understand him.

He was found dead next to Stanberg Lake at the age of forty-six  and his death remains shrouded in obscure circumstances.

Nevertheless, he didn’t live in vain. His artistic heritage has a priceless value: the marvelous castles that he made to build in the most striking locations of Bayern, among the German Alps and breathtaking mountain lakes, still attract millions of tourists worldwide.

Let’s discover these fairytale mansions.

(Credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein is the most famous of them. It is located near the gracious village of Füssen. It is an authentic jewel, which has inspired Walt Disney as a model for many of his animated films. The castle is one of the most visited fortresses in Europe and it is considered a wonder of our modern age.

To build it, Ludwig used his own money without accessing the state treasury. Works on the project lasted from 1869 to 1886, but the king didn’t succeed in seeing his masterpiece completed. Luckily, in 1884, he settled in, when many private rooms were already finished, and lived there for 172 days.

Neuschwanstein was not only conceived as a representative space to showcase power; but was a refuge where the king could isolate himself from the world, to immerse his own person and mind in a parallel dimension.

It is rich with recalls to myths, Byzantine motifs and Richard Wagner’s operas, amongst others. In fact, the castle was decorated with many frescoes, dedicated to medieval legends and sagas.

Outside, the building follows the neo-Gothic style: it has numerous towers, pinnacles and balconies, but nothing of them has a defensive purpose; they serves for decorative functions only.

Neuschwanstein is situated at 1008 meters over the sea level, on a rocky peak (on the opposite mountain, the Hohenschwangau castle was built, where the queens mother lived), from where you can enjoy an incredible landscape: alpine lakes, luxuriant forests, green hills and strong mountains which extend endlessly.

It’s a sight that is impossible to forget.

(Credit: Shutterstock)

Linderhof

Linderhof is the smallest of Ludwig’s castles and it is the only castle that the king saw completed.

The mansion looks like a little and delicate bonbonniere and, like Neuschwanstein, was conceived as a private residence with an intimate atmosphere. The rooms, exclusively reserved for political receptions, were limited to four only.

The interiors follow the Rococo style, characterized by magnificent furniture and detailed golden stuccos. The Mirrors Room is dominated by an ivory candlestick and the fireplaces are coated by lapis lazuli.

The bedroom is the biggest room of the castle and a huge Murano glass chandelier hangs from its ceiling. The lunchroom is equipped with an elevator, which brought meals from the kitchens to upper floor. As the main centerpiece, an esteemed porcelain vase from Meissen, containing Chinese flowers, stands at the center of the table.

The park is the most astonishing part of the castle. It mixes formal elements from Baroque period, with Italian Renaissance gardens and the English ones. It has a geometric structure and contains many particular buildings, such as Venus’ cave, the Moorish kiosk and the Moroccan house, which add an exotic touch to the composite context.

I recommend to visit this castle in the Spring season, when the gardens are at the top of their revival, and the flowers are  blossoming.

(Credit: Getty Images)

Herrenchiemsee

Herrenchiemsee (also called Herreninsel, “Men’s Island”) is built in an unexpected location, little known and praised, compared to the previous castles.

This mansion is located in a place which is similar to an enclave, an environment far from stress and traffic, full of peace, spirituality and nature. Perhaps the same structure of the island, in terms of distance and isolation, encourages this atypical condition, as if it is reserved to a few  selected individuals, especially during the winter months where it hides in isolation.

Herrenchiemsee is the most expensive among Ludwig’s castles, and the king had spent as much as for Linderhof and Neuschwanstein combined.

It was never completed, because works were interrupted at his death. Despite that, it would have been a perfect copy of Versailles Royal Palace.  However, it presents the main building only, compared to the more complex and wide architecture of the French residence, with a smaller park and simple external structure.

Decorated interiors are almost exclusively in the central floor of the castle. To reproduce the same ornaments, Ludwig sent his artists directly to Versailles, in order to study the models by which they had to be inspired in a more direct way.

The Great Mirror Gallery is very impressive and is an exact copy of the one found in Versailles. It is 98 meters long and contains 17 arched windows with as many mirrors, golden stuccos, and frescoes made on the vaulted ceiling and 33 chandeliers with 44 candlesticks for each. It is a pure example of refined architectural extravagance.

The Representation bedroom follows the same Baroque mood and is covered by red velvet, golden embroidery and carved palm trees.

In the south wing of the new castle, a museum dedicated to Ludwig has been set up. It recounts his life story, his character and way of thinking, as well as as introducing the viewers to his cultural, artistic and political projects, presented alongside photos and original clothes.

But Herrenchiemsee is not comprised of the castle only. Not far, there is the Augustinian convent, which hosts painter Julius Exter’s permanent exhibition and the portrays the narrative of the German Federal Republic constitution.

From this island, it is possible to go by boat to Fraueninsel (“Women’s Island”): an adorable, little, silent locale. It is dominated by the female convent, originally founded by Tassilone III Duke of Bayern in 782, with the typical onion-shape dome and managed by Benedictine nuns.

(Credit: Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung)

Conclusion

You are curious to visit and enjoy all these enchanted natural sites, buildings and castles as soon as possible, aren’t you?

This is the architectural history connected to Ludwig II King of Bayern, a creator of fairytale atmospheres. He has become an idol for many people, and an example of diversity, creativity, resourcefulness, overcoming of own times.

In this way, Ludwig is to thank for having left to posterity these wonderful architectural jewels, built in stunning, palingenetic locations, which offers visitors the opportunity to always believe in the power of culture, arts and dreams.