Castle of Bavaria’s Mad King

HOHENSCHWANGAU, BAVARIA — Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm — aka King Ludwig II— had several nicknames: the Fairy King, the Swan King and, my favorite, the Mad King. He also held several dukedoms, but we won’t get into that. He ascended to the Bavarian throne, in what is now southern Germany, in 1866, at the age of 18. Ludwig had little interest in ruling over his country. He was introverted and showed scant concern in governmental matters, which quickly led to tensions with Bavaria’s ministers. The Mad King possessed two passions: building lavish castles and the German composer Richard...

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