The 125th Anniversary of the Death of King Ludwig II (Terrific Photos)

The Atlantic ^ | 6/13/2011 | Alan Taylor

[mojito]

A hundred twenty-five years ago, Bavaria's "Maerchenkoenig" (or "Fairy-tale King") Ludwig II died under very mysterious circumstances at the age of 40, his body found floating in Lake Starnberg, south of Munich. Today, Ludwig remains famous for the castles he built and attempted to build, most notably Neuschwanstein Castle, perched high in the Alpine foothills.

[TheConservativeParty]

I was there in October 2007.

I just took out my photo album to refresh my memory on the smaller home of Ludwig, called Schloss Linderhoff.

There is a wonderful fountain on the grounds,of King Neptune with 3 horses rearing up he he drives the chariot through the waters. Even the rainy day I was there couldn’t ruin the beauty of that sight.

[CornBred]

Thank you for posting that.

Take your breath away beautiful.

[Erasmus]

The work of Gordon Craig (1913-2005). Specifically, his book The Germans (1981).

[nomorelurker]

self ping took look at pictures again later.

[basil]

I visited Neuschwanstein several times, with family and friends. It is one of my favorite spots in all the world.

I always had to wonder how someone who grew up in all that natural beauty that is the Alps could grow up to become a Hitler...

[Cicero]

I bicycled through Europe many years ago, the summer after I graduated from prep school, and Neuschwanstein Castle was one of the places I visited. I loved it, and I loved the Tyrolean Alps.

If you ever want to go hiking, I can’t think of a better place to do it. You can stop in a hostel or a bed and breakfast every evening and put down the local beer. Or you can do as I did, and strap a sleeping bag and poncho on the back of your bike.

I even bought a pair of lederhosen and a green felt hat with a feather in its band, when I went through there. Keep in mind, I was only 18.

[Rich21IE]

Sad. All that money and position and the poor bastard couldn’t swim.

[Spruce]

There was a full-motion-video game done in 1995 by Sierra, The beast within, that featured a lot of elements pertaining to Ludwig and his castles.

[EyeGuy]

“Thanks. I saved all 30.”

###

Me too.

At the higher resolution option.

[School of Rational Thought]

Absolutley a great achievement. US cannot even build a fence on its border.

[School of Rational Thought]

Absolutley a great achievement. US cannot even build a fence on its border.

[School of Rational Thought]

Absolutley a great achievement. US cannot even build a fence on its border.

[Erasmus]

Here's a little travelogue I found from Baden-Württemburg, west of Ludwig II's Bavaria.

The first castle in the show is on the site of the ancestral home of the Hohenzollern, the Second Reich's last rulers. Although some of its foundations date back to around 1100, it was built largely between 1840 and 1880, making it contemporary with Neuschwanstein.

[Guenevere]

Thank-you, this is fascinating....beautiful pictures.

My husband has been to that castle.

[Ramius]

That one is truly breathtaking.

[Erasmus]

Here's part of W.H. Auden's poem September 1, 1939:

Accurate scholarship can
Unearth the whole offence
From Luther until now
That has driven a culture mad,
Find what occurred at Linz,
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god:
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.

Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do,
The elderly rubbish they talk
To an apathetic grave;
Analysed all in his book,
The enlightenment driven away,
The habit-forming pain,
Mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again.

[Revolting cat!]

[Revolting cat!]

[Vroomfondel]

bflr

[kabumpo]

I stayed in one of those castles in Bayreuth, years ago. My parents were big Wagnerians, friends of the family.