WEBVTT - How Did a Mad King Design Disney's Castle?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bogelbam. Here you can thank a mad Bavarian king

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<v Speaker 1>for the opening credits to every Disney movie. Before Walt

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<v Speaker 1>Disney built Disneyland, he and his wife Lillian toward Europe,

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<v Speaker 1>including a stop at the magnificent Neusch von Stein Castle

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<v Speaker 1>in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Disney was so impressed

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<v Speaker 1>with the skyscraping, turrets and towers of this faux Romanesque

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<v Speaker 1>structure that he used it as the model for Sleeping

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<v Speaker 1>Beauty's Castle, the centerpiece of Disneyland and now the ubiquitous

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<v Speaker 1>logo of Walt Disney Pictures. But if Disney had known

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<v Speaker 1>the real story of Neusch von Stein and its fairy

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<v Speaker 1>tale king, an eccentric opera fan who was declared a

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<v Speaker 1>mad man before dying under mysterious circumstances, he might have

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<v Speaker 1>chosen a different castle. Neusch von Stein Castle is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe, welcoming more

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<v Speaker 1>than six thousand visitors on busy day das in the summer.

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<v Speaker 1>But the man who dreamed up the fantastical castle never

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<v Speaker 1>intended for it to be open to the public. It

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<v Speaker 1>began as an architectural love letter to the German composer

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<v Speaker 1>Richard Wagner and evolved into a refuge for a reclusive

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<v Speaker 1>king who slowly lost his grip on reality. King Ludwig

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<v Speaker 1>the Second never fit the mold of a stoic monarch.

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<v Speaker 1>Born in eighteen forty five, he was raised in princely

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<v Speaker 1>elegance in his father, Maximilian the Seconds castle Hohenschwangau, where

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<v Speaker 1>the young royal quote enjoyed dressing up and took pleasure

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<v Speaker 1>in play acting. According to his mother Marie of Prussia,

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<v Speaker 1>from an early age, Ludwig had a vivid imagination and

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<v Speaker 1>a flair for the dramatic owen Schwangau, built in eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>thirty two in the Gothic style, was decorated with paintings

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<v Speaker 1>drawn from medieval German legends and poetry, and young Ludwig

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<v Speaker 1>particularly identified with Luhang Green, a legendary knight of the

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<v Speaker 1>Holy Grail who traveled on a boat pulled by swans.

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<v Speaker 1>When Maximilian the Second died suddenly in eighteen sixty four, Ludwig,

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<v Speaker 1>then eighteen years old, was thrust into power unprepared for

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<v Speaker 1>any serious political leadership. One of the first things Ludwig

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<v Speaker 1>did as king was to invite his musical idol Wagner

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<v Speaker 1>to come to Munich for an opera festival. Wagner was

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<v Speaker 1>also obsessed with German medieval legends and an even written

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<v Speaker 1>opera version of the Luhan Green story in eighteen fifty. Wagner,

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<v Speaker 1>who was in dire financial straits, eagerly accepted Ludwig's invitation,

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<v Speaker 1>and the young king became one of the composer's chief patrons.

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<v Speaker 1>When they met, Wagner didn't know what to make of

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<v Speaker 1>the other worldly Ludwig, Wagner wrote, today, I was brought

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<v Speaker 1>to him. He's unfortunately so beautiful and wise, soulful and

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<v Speaker 1>lordly that I fear his life must fade away like

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<v Speaker 1>a divine dream. In this base world. You cannot imagine

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<v Speaker 1>the magic of his regard. If he remains alive, it

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<v Speaker 1>will be a great miracle. Wagner couldn't have predicted it,

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<v Speaker 1>but just two years later, in eighteen six six, Bavaria

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<v Speaker 1>and Austria suffered a humiliating defeat to Prussia in the

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<v Speaker 1>Seven Weeks War, and Ludwig was stripped of all real power.

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<v Speaker 1>It was then historians believe that Ludwig decided to retreat

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<v Speaker 1>into a fantasy kingdom in the Alps dedicated to Wagner,

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<v Speaker 1>an alternate reality in which he could play out his

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<v Speaker 1>operatic daydreams full of Christian nights and magical swans. Ludwig

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<v Speaker 1>already had the perfect location picked out, a rocky promontory

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<v Speaker 1>near his childhood castle with three hundred and sixty degree

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<v Speaker 1>views of pristine alpine lakes, lush valleys, and towering peaks.

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<v Speaker 1>He wrote a letter to Wagner describing his plans to

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<v Speaker 1>build a far more ambitious version of his father's Hoenschwangau. Quote,

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<v Speaker 1>the location is one of the most beautiful to be found,

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<v Speaker 1>wholly and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend

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<v Speaker 1>who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.

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<v Speaker 1>To bring his vision to life, Ludwig enlisted a theatrical

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<v Speaker 1>set designer and scene painter from Munich named Christian Young

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<v Speaker 1>make some appropriately dramatic drawings of the new hohen Schwangau.

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<v Speaker 1>As Ludwig called it, it was meant to be an

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<v Speaker 1>idealized version of a medieval castle, inspired by a visit

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<v Speaker 1>to the legitimately medieval vartboard palace, but cranked up to

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<v Speaker 1>an eleven. Ludwig wanted two hundred well appointed rooms, a

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<v Speaker 1>cavernous singers hall for opera performances or nate walled gardens,

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<v Speaker 1>and even a night's bath akin to the ritual baths

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<v Speaker 1>used by the Knights of the Holy Grail, But rather

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<v Speaker 1>than being a complete throwback, the castle was to include

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<v Speaker 1>the latest technological comforts, including electric lighting, flush toilets, central heating,

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<v Speaker 1>and an electric buzzer system for summoning servants. The first

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<v Speaker 1>stone of Ludvig's dreamcastle was laid in eighteen sixty nine.

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<v Speaker 1>He had written to Wagner that he hoped to move

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<v Speaker 1>in in three years, but construction was still ongoing when

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<v Speaker 1>Ludwig finally moved into the first completed section fifteen years later.

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<v Speaker 1>By that point, the scale of the castle had been

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<v Speaker 1>paired down significantly, and the project had taken on a

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<v Speaker 1>distinct the kiotic feel. Ludvig, a deeply pious Christian, had

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<v Speaker 1>begun to identify himself more and more with the Arthurian

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<v Speaker 1>hero Parceval. Another Night in the Quest of the Holy

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<v Speaker 1>Grail in the Castle of Space, originally planned as an

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<v Speaker 1>audience room for receiving guests was turned into a high

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<v Speaker 1>domed throne room without a throne instead, its guilt walls

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<v Speaker 1>and murals would serve as a whole of the Holy Grail.

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<v Speaker 1>Ludwig grew increasingly reclusive. He slept during the day and

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<v Speaker 1>wandered the castle at night, had hire musicians and actors

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<v Speaker 1>for private concerts and operas, and during the various snowy winters,

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<v Speaker 1>journey out for night time sleigh rides in an elaborate

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<v Speaker 1>custom made sleigh, sometimes in medieval costume. By the still

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<v Speaker 1>unfinished castle had gone wildly over budget, and Ludwig had

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<v Speaker 1>tried the patience of his foreign creditors. When he couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>repay his debts, the foreign banks seized the property and

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<v Speaker 1>threatened to bankrupt the state of Bavaria. Ludwig's ministers, largely

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<v Speaker 1>to protect state assets, accused the king of insanity and

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<v Speaker 1>removed him from the throne. Ludwig had clearly shown some

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<v Speaker 1>borderline delusional behavior, and his obsession with building his new

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<v Speaker 1>ho and Schwangau A plus four other lavish personal palaces

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<v Speaker 1>and homes was all consuming. Now. Whether or not he

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<v Speaker 1>had any mental disorder that would be diagnosable by today's standards,

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<v Speaker 1>is still debated. Ludwig's ultimate fate is also shrouded in mystery.

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<v Speaker 1>Days after Ludwig was deemed insane by the state appointed

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<v Speaker 1>psychiatrist and locked up in a drab castle, he was

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<v Speaker 1>found dead, apparently drowned in waist deep water. Ludwig's death

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<v Speaker 1>at only forty years old would have been ruled a

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<v Speaker 1>suicide if not for one gruesome detail. His psychiatrist was

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<v Speaker 1>floating dead next to him. No one knows exactly what happened.

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<v Speaker 1>The castle was renamed Neich von Stein, a German for

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<v Speaker 1>new Swanstone after Ludwig's death, as a homage to the

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<v Speaker 1>tragic and eccentric figure known as the fairy tale King. Ironically,

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<v Speaker 1>the debt ridden castle, opened to the public just seven

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<v Speaker 1>weeks after Ludwig's death in eighteen eighty six, has paid

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<v Speaker 1>for itself many times over thanks to the one point

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<v Speaker 1>four million tourists who visit every year. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other mythic topics, visit

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