1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday everyone. Today we are going back to a 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:08,959 Speaker 1: frequent listener request that is lit Big, the second of Bavaria, 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,239 Speaker 1: the eccentric monarch who was sometimes nicknamed the Mad King. 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: This episode is from July, featuring previous hosts Katie and Sarah, 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: and they talk about how that nickname is really a misnomer. 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Katie Lambert and I'm Sarah Dowdy. 9 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,919 Speaker 1: Today we're going to start our episode with a housekeeping 10 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: tip from King Ludvig, the second builder of Neuche bon 11 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: Stein and patron of Wagner. Sarah take it from here, 12 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: all right. So, if you enjoy really opulent multi course 13 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: dinners with your imaginary friends, but you don't want a 14 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: bunch of servants and footman, oh I don't interrupting them. 15 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: A changing of the course is interrupting the service, you 16 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: should install a trapped door dinner table. So that way, 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: when you're done with your plate, or when Louis fourt 18 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: is done with his plate, you simply press a button 19 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: and then wait in your settings will descend into the floor, 20 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: and soon enough the whole table will reappear, freshly laid out, 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: new food, new plates, and you can get back to 22 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: entertaining your guests. That is a true story, and it's 23 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: no wonder that Ludwig is part of a popularly requested 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: trio of topics, the king himself, his castles, and his composer. 25 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: And there's a lot of lovable weirdness here in this story, 26 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: and some eccentric cities, plus some enormous building projects and 27 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: bizarre royal families, which you know how much we love those, 28 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: and you know, who knows, We might even mention our 29 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: most favorite theme of all, which are most loyal listeners 30 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: will know what that is right away. But to start off, 31 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: we're going to go for another common theme, which is 32 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: sad royal childhood's Soldvig the Second, who is also known 33 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: as Louis the second, was born in Munich at Nimfenburg 34 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: Palace on August forty five, which interestingly was the same 35 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: day and same hour that his grandfather and namesake was born, 36 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: and he is a vital Spock, a member of Europe's 37 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: longest ruling dynasty. They ruled Bavaria continuously from eleven eighty 38 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: to nineteen eighteen, which is when the last of their 39 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: line was forced to abdicate at the end of World 40 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: War One. And initially this family ruled as dukes and 41 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: duke electors. Some were Holy Roman Emperors, but by eighteen 42 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: o six their duchy is raised to a kingdom by 43 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: Napoleon and they become kings. Max the First, Ludvig the 44 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: seconds great grandfather is the first vital Spot king, but 45 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: Lidvig's grandfather, King Ludvig the First, is more famous for 46 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: his womanizing than anything else, and he's even decorated the 47 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: Nippenburg Palace with or trips of all these gorgeous society women. 48 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: It's called the Gallery of Beauties. You can still see 49 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: it today. I liked author Michael White described it as 50 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 1: a room of high class pin ups. But um, this 51 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 1: is a pretty conservative state, so people would like their 52 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: king to at least keep this discreet. And he loses 53 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: it completely when he meets Lola Montez, who's a beautiful 54 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: Irish woman who's pretending to be a Spanish aristocrat. She 55 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: is a trip. We have to cover her in a 56 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: later podcast, Yeah, we we might. And they have this 57 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: very open relationship. People really don't like it, and the 58 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: king is forced to abdicate in favor of his son, 59 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: Maximilian the Second, and this is of course Ludwig the 60 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: seconds father. So Maximilian is not a big fan of 61 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: being a king, though he would really rather be a 62 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: professor study read books. And he's also not interested in 63 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: his son. So this gives you a little background on 64 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: what Ludvig's childhood is going to be like. And his mother, 65 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: Marie of Prussia, is exactly the opposite of her husband 66 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: in every way except one. But she's also completely uninterested 67 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: in her children and spends maybe an hour a day 68 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: with them at the very most. She's athletic and pretty 69 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: and is proud to say that she's never read a book. 70 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: So I don't think she can hang with us now, 71 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,799 Speaker 1: not at all. We should also say that Lidvig's parents 72 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: are cousins and that his family, aside from his parents 73 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: being cousins, is severely inbred. Another thing to keep in 74 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 1: mind as we go on. So Little Ludvig becomes heir 75 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: to the throne at two and a half, and life 76 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: is pretty sad for a crown prince. He's lonely, he's neglected. 77 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: He's also pampered, though, because every wish must be catered to, 78 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: and he's very undisciplined, and the birth of his brother 79 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: Otto only further splits this very limited and especially this 80 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: is bad when Otto starts to suffer from hallucinations and 81 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: requires a lot more care and attention than Lidvic can self. 82 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 1: And his childhood, as Sarah points out, is actually a 83 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: lot like the palace he was born in. It's very formal, 84 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: it's grand, but it's also isolated, and so perhaps it's 85 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: no wonder that he turns to elaborate reimaginings of medieval 86 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: architecture as an adult. But since architecture is such an 87 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: important part of Ludvig's later life, we should go into 88 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: a little more detail about his childhood architecture. He grows 89 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: up around the Victuals Box. Official home is in Munich. 90 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: They don't spend or at least Ludwig doesn't spend a 91 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: terribly large amount of time there, because being in Munich 92 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: means work in business, and we don't do a lot 93 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: of this family and Livig instead grows up at Hoenshvana, 94 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: which is about forty miles away from Munich. And it 95 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: was a palace built by his father, and the walls 96 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: there are covered in murals of German legends and you 97 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,840 Speaker 1: can actually see these today, they're still there. And uh, 98 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: these legends a lot with biblical stories really fuel this 99 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: poor lonely young boy's imagination. So you're bored at home, 100 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: you read some Bible stories. Maybe you dress up like 101 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: a nun. This is what he does and are shy. 102 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: Imaginative boy is also really obsessed with his own power. 103 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: It's not all these sweet imaginative games. At one point, 104 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: he tries to strangle his younger brother and instead of apologizing, 105 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: he says that Otto is his vassal and had disobeyed him. 106 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: And he steals from a shop and tells a governess 107 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter because everything will belong to him someday. 108 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: So very healthy mindset. Yeah, So, becoming Crown Princess Ataler 109 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:48,559 Speaker 1: was obviously the first major event in Livig's life, really 110 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: shaping who he became in his future. But the second 111 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: major event in his life is his discovery of Richard 112 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: Wagner at age thirteen. And I'm really tempted to talk 113 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: more about the composer and a later episode because he's 114 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: really interesting and really controversial. But for now we're just 115 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: going to say that Ludwig loved Wagner in caps on 116 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: my outline. Yeah, he wants to be Wagner's swan Knight. 117 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: He loves the music, he loves the big, elaborate theatrical sets, 118 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: and most of all, he loves the stories because, after all, 119 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: a lot of Wagner's music is based on those same 120 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: Teutonic legends that Lidvig has literally grown up seeing around 121 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: his bedroom walls. Yes, his imagination comes to life in 122 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: a moody teenager. And our moody teenager became a moody 123 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: king when his father died in eighteen sixty four, possibly 124 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: of syphilis. This might be our other new theme. And 125 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: eighteen year old Ludwig inherits the throne, and he looks 126 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: like a king. He's very tall, he's six four, he's slender, 127 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: he has a thick, curly black hair. He's extremely handsome. 128 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: He looks like what Prince Charming should be. People go 129 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: crazy when they see him during the funeral procession. And 130 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: he's a romantic hero as well as the king. Yeah, 131 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 1: it almost only helps that he's so moody and so 132 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: bookish it It adds to this the handsome brooding men 133 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: exactly like we said earlier, though, he's really obsessed with Wagner, 134 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: and one of the first matters of business when he's 135 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: king is to send for the composer, and the very 136 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: indebted Wagner moves to Munich makes all these immediate financial 137 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: demands like I need a new theater King Ludwig, and 138 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: Ludvig is happy to oblige. The politicians, however, um freak out. 139 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: To put it in nice historical terms, they're also getting 140 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: really worried, not only because Ldvig is spending so much 141 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: money on this composer, but because Ludvig really loves Wagner 142 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: like I loves loves Yes. He writes him passionate letters, 143 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: and Wagner, who's smart enough to work his job, returns 144 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: in kind. Wagner at the time, is of course, hooking 145 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: up with his mistress and future wife, Cosima, who's the 146 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: daughter of Franz List and the woman largely responsible for 147 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,959 Speaker 1: later creating the cult of Wagner, and once the team 148 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: King told Wagner that he would give up his kingship 149 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: and come live with him, Wagner realized perhaps things had 150 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: gone a little too far, had to talk him down, 151 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,439 Speaker 1: hides the woman in his bed, and eventually the Bavarian 152 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: cabinet says that enough is enough, and Wagner is kicked 153 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 1: out after a year. Yeah, we don't want another Lola Montez, everybody, 154 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: So moving on from this early infatuation, Ludwig seeks consolation 155 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: in his best friend, who is his cousin Sissy, also 156 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: the Empress of Austria. And she's a little out there too, 157 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: like a lot of the victuals box. She suffers from interaxia, 158 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: she suffers from manic depression, but she really understands Ludvig, 159 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: and she understands the problems he's facing and is able 160 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: to talk to him. You know. They write letters to 161 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:22,079 Speaker 1: each other, and suddenly he's engaged to her little sister, Sophie. 162 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 1: And you might wonder how this extremely awkward young man 163 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:33,359 Speaker 1: comes together with this beautiful young woman and there apparent interests. 164 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: Shared interests was Wagner, of course, And I feel like 165 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 1: today they would meet on some sort of internet message board. 166 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,080 Speaker 1: If we're both attractive and we both love Wagner, we 167 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: should probably get married. So they get their official photos 168 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 1: made up, they plan the wedding and then he starts 169 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: to get cold feet and he pushes back the wedding date. 170 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: He asks his doctor to certify him as unfit to marry, 171 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: and finally he tells Sophie that there is not the 172 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: love which is necessar very for a matrimonial union, so 173 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: burn Sophie, and that, of course, is because he was 174 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: probably gay. And in addition to his obsession with Wagner, 175 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 1: his secret diaries disclose liaisons with lots of actors and 176 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:20,000 Speaker 1: maybe some military officers, and they were destroyed in World 177 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: War Two. But a lot of his inner turmoil seems 178 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: to have come from guilt about his sexuality, because he 179 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,959 Speaker 1: was a devout Catholic. Yeah, but this isn't all to 180 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: say that Ludwig is totally isolated from matters of state 181 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: at this point of what we've described so far might 182 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: sound like somebody who isn't going to work every day, um, 183 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: But that isolation really comes later. In eighteen sixty six, 184 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: he actually enters the Seven Weeks War on the side 185 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: of Austria against Prussia. UM. But at the defeat of Austria, 186 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: he signs an alliance with Prussia and works to reconcile 187 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: these two big powers in Germany. So this alliance with 188 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: Prussia comes into play in eighteen seventy when they're the 189 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: war against France and he sticks with Prussia, avoiding a 190 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: potential Franco Austrian Bavarian alliance, and Prussia wins, and then 191 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: at the urging of Bismarck, Ludwig actually helps put out 192 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: the call to all the other princes of Germany to 193 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: unite into this German Empire under the rule of the 194 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: Prussian King, who is from there on out known as 195 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: the Kaiser. But Ludvig is kind of disappointed with aspects 196 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 1: of this new arrangement. It's not exactly what he had 197 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: hoped it would be. His territory isn't expanded, and you know, 198 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,439 Speaker 1: as as one of the kings who's not the Kaiser, 199 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: he doesn't have as much power as he liked. And 200 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: he thought there would maybe be some sort of sharing 201 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: of the crown between his state and Prussia, and that's 202 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: not how it worked out. So he's still King of Bavaria, 203 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,079 Speaker 1: but now it's just a state and not a kingdom. 204 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: And again he's a bit of a figurehead, so you 205 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: know why bother he retreats into increased solitude. And what 206 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: do you do when you don't really have a kingdom 207 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: to run, you don't have your composer to live with, 208 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 1: and you really don't want to get married. You build 209 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: your own kublican right, or three of them. So Littvig 210 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,960 Speaker 1: builds three castles and designs three more, and they occupy 211 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: him during his increasingly isolated life that starts in the 212 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: eighteen seventies, and from this point on he's mostly alone. 213 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 1: He dines alone, he goes to his theatrical performances alone. 214 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: He switches to this vampire like nocturnal schedule where he 215 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 1: gets up at five pm um. But his first major 216 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: building project, he doesn't. He doesn't start off right away 217 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: with a huge castle. He starts off with a remodeling project, 218 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 1: and that's redecorating his father's castle and his childhood home 219 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:52,440 Speaker 1: at Hohenschwangau. And he must have caught a nice view 220 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: from there, because he starts to plan a bigger project, 221 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: which of course is Nisch von Stein across the lake. 222 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: And this is seriously the Disney Castle. And while it's 223 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: not the most elaborate of his creations, it's definitely the 224 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: most recognizable. It's a reimagining of what a medieval castle 225 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: looks like, with plenty of French Rococo and Bavarian Baroque 226 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: thrown in. And it's planned by a theatrical designer, not 227 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: an architect, and it's basically Wagner themed, with Swan shaped 228 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: taps and an indoor grotto from Venusberg the opening apparition 229 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: in Wagner's opera Townhauser. And it takes seventeen years to construct, 230 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: its actually never finished, and Ludvig only spends about six 231 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 1: months their total all added up together. So the next 232 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: place he builds is Linderhof, which is of home year 233 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: sort of residents, and it's about twelve miles from Nu Schwenstein, 234 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: and he builds it between eighteen sixty nine and seventy eight, 235 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: and it's actually modeled on trin On, though so not 236 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: terribly homy to so the still an elaborate palace. He 237 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: really liked the Bourbons. His coaches and his sleighs were 238 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: staffed by coachman dressed in reproduction Louis the fourteenth Livery. 239 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: He would spend about two weeks of every month at 240 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: this house and had a harmonium set up for Wagner, 241 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: along with that disappearing table we mentioned in the intro. 242 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: But it's here that he starts all the weird stuff, 243 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: waking up at five pm, dining with his imaginary friends, 244 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: then going out for midnight carriage rides as he again 245 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: just retreats more and more from society, but he sticks 246 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: with the Wagner theme for this place to Linderhoff has 247 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: the Venus Grotto another Venus grotto imagined again from ton Hauser, 248 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: and he would row around in the man made lake 249 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: on this gilded seashell. You can look up pictures of this. 250 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: It's a pretty cool. Sarah sent me one today and 251 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: we decided that might be a better use of our time. 252 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: And the lake is actually illuminated by one of Bavaria's 253 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: first power ants, because who wants a dark, creepy cave 254 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: made out of plaster needs to have all these cool 255 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 1: blue and red lights. It also had a moorish pavilion 256 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 1: with a peacock theme perfect for opium smoking if you're 257 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: so inclined, and a hunting cabin with plenty of faux 258 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: wood stumps and fake trees, again Disney Alert. But his 259 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 1: final big project was haren Hens, which was constructed between 260 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy eight and eighteen eighty five, and this time 261 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: he really honors the Bourbons and even tries to upstage 262 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: them because the castle is a copy of their Sailles, 263 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: only bigger and better. Yeah, it has an even grander 264 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: hall of mirrors where he would read under the light 265 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: of seventy nine candelabras with one thousand, eight hundred forty 266 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: eight candles. It seems like you need a lot of 267 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: servants for that. Or he would take a bath in 268 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: this marble tub that took eight hours to heat and fill, 269 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 1: and we didn't mention this yet either. The castle was 270 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: built on an island in the middle of an alpine lake, 271 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: a very exclusive island. I would imagine, a very exclusive island. 272 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: It's going to make it harder to build too, if 273 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,360 Speaker 1: you have to row everything out to the island well, 274 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: and this castle is his downfall. Only twenty of the 275 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: seventy rooms are finished. It cost more to build than 276 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: nischvon Stein and Linderhof together, and he only spends nine 277 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: nights there, so multiply those candles by nine nights exactly. 278 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,880 Speaker 1: So this makes us come to the question, how did 279 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: Ludwig pay for all this, and initially he financed these 280 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: castles himself. He saw himself as a modern son king, 281 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: and accordingly he thought he needed to celebrate this through 282 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: the construction of castles through the patronage of artists such 283 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 1: as Wagner and others. But it's not that long before 284 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: he runs out money. Obviously, he starts to borrow in 285 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: his own pay way way ahead. He tries to get 286 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,640 Speaker 1: loans from the Shawl of Iran, from the Turkish Sultan, 287 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: from the Duke of Westminster. He even orders his cabinet 288 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: to find loans and is very threatening and forceful when 289 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 1: they're coming up short. And so by eighteen eighty six 290 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: he's being sued for debt, which is terribly embarrassing, and 291 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,959 Speaker 1: he has this hair brand plan to rob a London 292 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,439 Speaker 1: bank doesn't work out, so the government is starting to 293 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: get seriously worried, like is our king crazy or is 294 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,679 Speaker 1: he just spending way too much money? Either way, this 295 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,119 Speaker 1: has got to stop. He was certainly lonely, he told 296 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: an aide to camp. Sometimes I call one of the 297 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: domestic servants or postilions and asked him to tell me 298 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: about his home and his family, otherwise I would completely 299 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,400 Speaker 1: forget the art of speech, and in his private journals 300 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: he appeals to dead rulers for help. Louis the fourteenth, 301 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: Charles the First of England. These are his friends, and 302 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: it's interesting a lot of the stuff I read about 303 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: these castles and about Ludvig. Apparently the tour guides refrain 304 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: from calling him the mad King anymore, which has long 305 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,680 Speaker 1: been his nickname. It makes sense. It's not a very 306 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: nice thing to call someone. Sorry for using it in 307 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: our title. Little Wig Eccentric is more often used today. 308 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 1: But his family definitely has some mental health issues. His 309 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: brother Otto, who we mentioned at the beginning, is schizophrenic 310 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 1: and he's put into an asylum. His aunt Alexandra is 311 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: put into a convent because she's positive she's swallowed a 312 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 1: glass grand piano. But if Ludvig is crazy, he's very 313 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: lucid at times too. He writes these eloquent letters, he 314 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:51,880 Speaker 1: studies French history and literature, and he's even politically astute 315 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: when he actually tries, you know, when he's not worrying 316 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 1: about his castle castles or his opera and actually gets 317 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: to work well. His best friend, I think, says it 318 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,960 Speaker 1: best Sissy, and she said he is not mad enough 319 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: to be locked up, but to abnormal to manage comfortably 320 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: in the world with reasonable people. So that's the assessment 321 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: from the person who knew him better than anyone. Yeah. 322 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 1: So finally the viddles Box, worried that Lidvig would bankrupt 323 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: their family, go to the Prime Minister and say that, well, 324 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 1: you know, we'd be okay if you deposed the king. 325 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 1: And so a panel of doctors declare living insane without 326 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,640 Speaker 1: seeing him. It's kind of like the tablet um and 327 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: the noted psychiatrist doctor Bernhard von Gutten is one of these. 328 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:46,640 Speaker 1: And so on June tenth, Prince Leopold, who is Ludwig's uncle, 329 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: declares himself Prince Regent and Otto will be king officially 330 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: Otto the First and Lidvig is at nisch fon Stein 331 00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 1: when the delegation finally comes to arrest him, and the 332 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,960 Speaker 1: soldiers and peasants try to stop them, try to save Ludwig, 333 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: but he's led away. He's taken to the Vittles Box 334 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,680 Speaker 1: castle Berg, which is on Lake Starnberg, and he's attended 335 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: there by the doctor and that's when things start to 336 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: get kind of weird. On June thirteen, he asks to 337 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: attend mass but is refused, and later in the day, 338 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: after a huge meal lots of wine, he gets Dr 339 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: Gooden to walk along the lake with him, but they 340 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: don't come back, and a search party finds that the 341 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: king has drowned face up, which is strange because he 342 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 1: was a very good swimmer and he was only in 343 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: four ft of water. Dr Gouden is also dead, So 344 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: what happened there? Obviously a lot of theories about this, 345 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: and the main assumption for many years is that the 346 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: king committed suicide because he had no future. He was 347 00:21:55,119 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: essentially a prisoner, and Dr Guten drowned trying to say 348 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: of him. Others have suggested that he was perhaps trying 349 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: to cross the lake to meet people sent by Sissy 350 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,840 Speaker 1: and escape to Austria and escape to her, and then 351 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: others say he was murdered, maybe even that he was 352 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: shot and not drowned at all. And we would probably 353 00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: no more, I feel if we opened his crypt in 354 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,080 Speaker 1: Munich at St. Michael's. All of the victuals box are 355 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 1: interred there and they have identical cripts, but his stands 356 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: out because it's always covered with flowers, and he's still 357 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: very popular, despite the fact that he nearly bankrupted his family. 358 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: His castles are today among Bavaria's main attractions. Who doesn't 359 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: want to go see the Sleeping Beauty Castle? Well, and interestingly, 360 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: they started to become these major attractions. I think within 361 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,400 Speaker 1: weeks after his death, people were paying to go to them. 362 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,680 Speaker 1: So in the long run, it's been a pretty good 363 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 1: investment for Bavaria. I'd say Ludwig's own memorial is far 364 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: simpler than any of these castles. It's across in the 365 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: lake at the spot where he drowned. But Sarah and 366 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: I were talking about it's always so strange for us 367 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: to talk about these subjects who are supposedly so well loved. 368 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: We keep reading, you know, the well loved so and so, 369 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: but we have no idea how these people are actually 370 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: viewed in their own country. Yeah, if you're in the area, 371 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: let us know what you think about Ludwig. It always 372 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,360 Speaker 1: has a little funny thing. Supposedly you people love this guy, 373 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: but you know, maybe not. It's easy enough to see though, 374 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: why he would be so well loved. He's a gentle 375 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: pacifist king. He's extremely eccentric, but that only makes him 376 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: more interesting. It's also always interesting, like we talked about 377 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: in our Emperor Norton podcast, to try to diagnose people 378 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: posthumously and figure out what sort of mental illness Ludwig 379 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: was grappling with, and it was in fact anything at all. 380 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: And that's one of the reasons I think people are 381 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: so interested him that end to his gorgeous castle and 382 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: this mysterious fate that we simply do not have the 383 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 1: answer to. Ye, thank you so much for joining us 384 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: on this Saturday. If you have heard an email address 385 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,400 Speaker 1: or a Facebook you are l or something similar over 386 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 1: the course of today's episode, since it is from the 387 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: archive that might be out of date now, you can 388 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,920 Speaker 1: email us at History podcast at how stuff Works dot com, 389 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 1: and you can find us all over social media at 390 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: missed in History, and you can subscribe to our show 391 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, 392 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff You Missed 393 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,160 Speaker 1: in Hisstory Class is a production of I Heart Radios 394 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. 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