About Ludwig II?

Ludwig II was the son of King Maximilian II of Bavaria and his mother was Princess Maria of Prussia. He was born in Nymphenburg (today's part of Munich). Ludwig II received an extremely strict royal education when he was a child. At that time, the most enjoyable time for Ludwig II was visiting Hohenschwangau (Hohenschwangau) with his family, and meeting his best friend (and probably his lover) Thun. Recite poetry with Paul of the Taxis family and act out roles from Wagner operas. Ludwig II maintained a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Princess Sissi (Ludwig II's father and Princess Sissi's mother were half-brothers and sisters), and they also loved Talking about nature and poetry, they compared themselves to eagles and seagulls respectively.

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Achievements

Ludwig II inherited the throne in 1864 when he was 18 years old. His youth and good looks made him very popular both in Bavaria and abroad. Although one of the first issues upon ascending to the throne was the expectations of the court and the people regarding the birth of a royal heir, Ludwig II never married. He was engaged to his cousin Princess Sophie of Austria (sister of Princess Sissi), but the wedding date was repeatedly postponed, and the engagement was finally canceled by Ludwig II. Sophie married Ferdinand Philippe Marie, Duke of Alencon.

Ludwig II supported Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, which put him in a passive situation when facing Prussia, the largest power in Germany, after Austria's defeat. In 1867 he joined the Prussian-led alliance like many other German princes who recognized that the balance of power had changed forever; under a treaty between the two sides, Bavaria entered the Franco-Prussian War on the Prussian side. At Bismarck's instruction, Ludwig II wrote to King Wilhelm I of Prussia in December 1870, requesting him to ascend the throne of the German Empire. The upshot of this drama was that Wilhelm I became emperor of a united Germany and Bavaria's independent status came to an end.

Throughout Ludwig II's reign, he was considered homosexual. His lovers are believed to have included Richard Honig, the royal captain of the bodyguard, the Hungarian theater actor Joseph Kainz, and Alphonse Weber, a courtier. Beginning in 1869, he wrote in his diary about his distress about his abnormal sexual orientation, hoping to curb this evil desire and "return to Catholicism."

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Artistic Achievements

Overview

Ludwig was obsessed with music and culture and was keen on building castles and palaces. The construction of these castles not only drained Ludwig's private wealth, but also swallowed up a large amount of the state budget. Due to growing debts, Ludwig's ministers and relatives arranged a hasty mental test for him in January 1886. As a result, Ludwig was diagnosed as mentally ill and no longer fit to govern the country. So this lonely, autocratic king moved to a castle converted into a mental hospital by Lake Starnberg. On the evening of June 13, 1886, Ludwig and his doctor went for a walk by the lake, but neither of them came back. There were only a few watery footprints where he fell into the water and drowned.

Architecture

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle has always been the embodiment of romantic and elegant medieval times in the mind of this fairy tale king. The charm of the castle itself and the sad story of the king add a sentimental and romantic atmosphere to this exquisite castle. As the cousin of Queen Sissi of Austria and the monarch of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Ludwig II, his unusual romance with Wagner has been recited by more and more people.

The most famous of the luxurious buildings built by Ludwig II is Neuschwanstein Castle. This romantic castle combines the characteristics of Byzantine architecture and Gothic architecture. It can only appear in a fairy tale world. Neuschwanstein Castle remained unfinished until Ludwig's death. The shape of Neuschwanstein Castle inspired the design of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.

Linderhof Palace (Linderhof)

Constructed from 1869 to 1879, the Rococo architectural style was combined with his passion for realizing mythology. It is mainly built to imitate the Little Trianon Palace of Versailles, with gold fountains in the garden, and Greek mythology as the theme of paintings. Here Ludwig II compares himself to the "Moon King", corresponding to the French King Louis XIV, the "Sun King". The dining table in the restaurant can be raised and lowered, so that Ludwig II did not need to let his servants see his face when dining. This shows his solitary personality.

Herrenchiemsee Palace (Herrenchiemsee)

Located in Chiemsee (Chiemsee), it is a replica of the Palace of Versailles in France. It was built between 1878 and 1885. After Ludwig II bought the island in 1873, he systematically cleared the mountains and forests. In 1867, he visited the Palace of Versailles and wanted to imitate the Palace of Versailles on the island. The front is Baroque, but it has a more ornate Hall of Mirrors than the Palace of Versailles. Ludwig II spent 200 million marks to complete the construction of the Herrenkimze Palace, which almost emptied the treasury. However, he only lived in the Herlenkimze Palace for a week before he died suddenly.

Support for playwrights

At the age of 15, Ludwig went to see Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" and was deeply shocked when he came out of the theater. This figure became the favorite of the heir to the throne, and perhaps for the first time he had a vague feeling in his mind that he compared himself to the Swan Knight.

While growing up, Ludwig discovered another kingdom, which was just behind the castle - the beautiful Bavarian Alps. He walked and rode horses here. In the communication with nature, he felt a kind of peace and fell in love with ordinary farmers. Influenced by the romantic nature and the legend of heroic knights, Ludwig also wanted to do something big, and he was waiting for the day he ascended the throne. At this time, he met the composer and playwright Richard Wagner and obtained all the artist's works: all Wagner's works accompanied him throughout Ludwig II's life.

Ludwig ascended the throne at the age of 18 and had power in his hands. One of the first state affairs he did was to invite Wagner to Munich and give him the use of his suburban villa. Now, with power and money, he became Wagner's patron. He paid off all the playwright's debts and promised to pay all his expenses, so that Wagner could "stretch himself to the fullest in the wonderful and pure artistic sky." Wings of Genius”. In addition, Ludwig II also founded the Bayreuth Theater specifically to perform Wagner's works. Here, the latter put German legends and fairy tales on the stage to his heart's content. He wanted to use the eternal struggle between good and evil to to attract the audience. A friendship arose between the 20-year-old king and the mature playwright.

"I don't love women, I don't love my parents, I don't love my brothers, I don't love my relatives. There is no one I care about, but you!" This heartbreaking confession is not an expression of love for the opposite sex. , it is not a sexual pursuit, but Ludwig's heartfelt admiration for Wagner. It is precisely because of the speculations of later generations about whether Ludwig is in love with Princess Sissi or is in love with Wagner. The Blue Mountains Next to the lake, in the enchanting Bavarian forest, stands a beautiful castle that is all white and both real and imaginary. It has become the fairy tale palace that tourists dream of.

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Ludwig and Wagner

In 1858, when Ludwig II was 13 years old, his governess gave him He told about Wagner's upcoming opera Lohengrin, which mainly revolves around the story of the medieval swan knight Lohengrin. From then on, Ludwig formed an inseparable friendship with Wagner and became Wagner's biggest fan. Not long after Ludwig came to the throne, he invited Wagner into his palace, and the king became the artist's patron. Soon, Bavarian public opinion was tired of Wagner's arrogance, and was also jealous of his influence on Ludwig, fearing that he would influence Ludwig's political stance. Therefore, Wagner was forced to leave Bavaria for Switzerland, where Luther Vichy provided him with the necessities of life. In 1876, Ludwig built the Bayreuth Festival Theater for Wagner as a performance venue for the Bayreuth Music Festival, which specializes in Wagner's operas.

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Death of the King

On June 10, 1886, Ludwig II was declared insane by the Bavarian government and was no longer able to Official affairs were conducted; Prince Liutpod was appointed regent. Some historians believe that Ludwig II was not mad but the victim of a conspiracy against him.

Ludwig II, who was living in Neuschwanstein Castle, tried to convey the following message to the public: Prince Liutpod took over the regency against my will and wanted to usurp power. My ministers listened to false reports about my health and prepared to commit tyranny against the people I loved. I need the help of every loyal Bavarian... These words were published in a Bamberg newspaper on June 11, 1886; but the government intercepted the paper and banned its circulation. Most of Ludwig II's telegrams to other newspapers and friends were also intercepted. Interestingly, Ludwig II did receive a proposal from Bismarck. Bismarck suggested that Ludwig return to Munich and appear in public, but he refused. On the morning of June 12, a force arrived at Neuschwanstein Castle where Ludwig II was hiding and arrested him. He was transferred to a castle in Berg, a southern suburb of Munich.

The cause of Ludwig II’s death remains a mystery. He drowned in Lake Starnberg in what was officially reported as a suicide, but the water where his body was found was only waist-deep. The autopsy report suggested there was no water in his lungs. Many people suspected that Ludwig II had been murdered.

Ludwig II's remains are buried in the Michaelkirche in Munich.

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The legend of Ludwig II

Ludwig II became the most extraordinary and most popular man in Germany of the monarch. He built many famous and beautiful palaces and castles; during his reign, although Bavaria's national power declined, it stayed away from war and maintained a peaceful state. Bavarians still call Ludwig II "our dear king" (unser Kini). The palaces and castles he built are also an important source of income from Bavaria's tourism industry.

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New technology solves the mystery of Ludwig II

Overview

For the Germans, 120 King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who died many years ago, is still a mystery: he was not good at managing state affairs, but he was deeply loved by the people; he was handsome and unrestrained, but apart from maintaining closeness with his cousin, Empress Sissi of Austria, Apart from the relationship, he had no interest in other women around him; he devoted all the efforts of the country to build the beautiful "Neuschwanstein Castle", but was declared a "madman" and was deposed; his ending was mysterious and tragic. , people still don’t know whether he committed suicide or was murdered. According to a recent report by the British "Times", some scientists hope to solve the mystery of Ludwig II's death by using the latest science and technology.

"His life is like a beautiful dream"

"Today, I was led to meet him. He is so 'hopelessly' handsome, wise, He is so passionate and elegant that I worry that in this world, his life will pass away like a beautiful dream... You can completely imagine his charm in unrelated film and television works. If he can live forever, That would be a miracle!”

The above paragraph was written by Richard Wagner, a famous German playwright in the 19th century, after meeting King Ludwig II of Bavaria for the first time.

Ludwig II was born in 1845. His father was Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, and his mother was Princess Marie of Prussia. His childhood was spent in the "Hohenschwangau" built by his father. In the castle, the murals reflecting medieval legends and German history deeply shocked little Ludwig's soul, enriched his emotional world with romantic tendencies, and aroused his love for all noble things. He didn't like or was even tired of the boring royal life. He liked to walk in the forests and canyons of South Germany and was full of love for the mountains, rivers and simple farmers there.

As he grew older, Ludwig II became more and more obsessed with art, obsessed with poetry, painting and music. In February 1861, he enjoyed Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" for the first time at the Royal Opera House in Munich, and became very interested in the art of opera, which almost determined his future destiny.

The young and emotional king

In March 1864, Maximilian II died, and young Ludwig succeeded to the throne and became King of Bavaria. At that time, he had not yet completed his university studies, and the old king also lacked political training for his son during his lifetime. "I became king too early, without learning enough," Ludwig II later recalled.

At that time, the power of the Kingdom of Bavaria was in the hands of both houses of parliament, and the medieval kingdom Ludwig II dreamed of no longer existed. In Munich, the complicated palace etiquette and intrigues for power made this young and emotional king intolerable. Only the smell of the Alps could refresh him. Looking at the undulating mountains, the green lake, and listening to the cries of the swans in the lake, he seemed to have entered the fairy tale world that had existed in his heart since he was a child...

Shortly after he succeeded to the throne, Ludwig II invited the playwright Wagner, whom he had admired for a long time, to Munich to help him create music. Beginning in 1865, famous operas such as "Tristan und Isolde" and "Meistersinger of Nuremberg" created by Wagner came out one after another. Munich thus became the music capital of Europe, and Ludwig II also gained a reputation as a lover of art. Unlike many arty European aristocrats at the time, his love for art, especially opera, came from the bottom of his heart.

As Wagner described, Ludwig II was handsome and tall, but he was not interested in women at all. In the summer of 1864, he spent four weeks in Bad Kissingen, a city in northern Bavaria. Although he was surrounded by women all day long, and there were even rumors that he was going to marry the daughter of the Russian Czar, he was never attracted to any woman. He only maintained a lifelong friendship with his cousin, Empress Sissi of Austria. Some people speculate based on this that Ludwig II may have always been secretly in love with Princess Sissi, so much so that he would rather stay alone for the rest of his life. However, some researchers pointed out that Ludwig II was most likely a homosexual, as evidenced by his extraordinary "love" for Wagner.

Unwilling to become a "chess piece" of a major power

In the 1860s, driven by the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister" Bismarck, Prussia, a powerful state in northern Germany, began aggressive foreign expansion, hoping that Complete the great cause of unification. As the king of Bavaria, a small state in southern Germany, Ludwig II did not like war and was unwilling to be a pawn in the hands of a big power. Therefore, in the face of the threat of war from Prussia, he quickly had the idea of ??abdicating. However, at the request of the parliament, he signed a military mobilization order against Prussia.

Facts proved that Bavaria was unable to stop the Prussian tanks. In August 1866, the two sides signed a peace treaty. In addition to giving up sovereignty in foreign policy and other aspects, Bavaria also had to pay huge war reparations to Prussia. In the weeks following the end of the war, Ludwig II decided to tour the war-ravaged areas in order to boost the morale of the people.

In a letter to Wagner, he wrote: "The purpose of my trip is to let my subjects know who I am and let them begin to know their monarch!" Wherever he went, the people were as enthusiastic as they were towards the victors. Ludwig II was welcomed with great enthusiasm, and it seemed that he had not suffered the devastating blow of the Prussian army at all.

In early 1870, the situation in Europe became increasingly severe, the relationship between Prussia and France deteriorated extremely, and war between the two countries was inevitable. Bavaria signed a mutual aid agreement with Prussia, and was naturally involved in the war. The German army achieved victory after victory in France. Although the Bavarian army was worse equipped than the Prussian army, the soldiers fought very bravely.

In September of that year, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Blé Steinberg, suggested to the king that he elect the Prussian monarch as the emperor of the German Empire, because it was the general trend for the German states to unify into one country. Through this election, Bavaria can gain certain benefits. Ludwig II disapproved of the idea, but was eventually persuaded. On January 18, 1871, King Wilhelm I of Prussia ascended the throne in Versailles. Almost all the German nobles attended the coronation ceremony, except Ludwig II who did not show up. Perhaps the reason was that he was still dissatisfied with the total loss of the kingdom's independence.

Building a dreamy castle

The unsatisfactory reality made Ludwig II hate court life even more. The more difficult he felt to be understood, the less talkative he became and began to silently build a closed world, a fairy tale world. There is no evil in this world, and even if there is, it will be eliminated by the "Holy Grail Knight", and the "Holy Grail Knight" is himself.

Ludwig II’s main means of constructing this fairy tale world was to build palaces, especially Ludwig II’s castle located at “Neuschwanstein Castle” on the edge of Lake Falg. The design of this castle is inspired by the playwright Wagner's famous opera "Swan Rider". In Ludwig II's opinion, the significance of this drama to "Neuschwanstein Castle" is incomparable.

At the beginning of drawing the blueprint of this castle, Ludwig II made detailed inspections and calculations based on the surrounding scenery. He even thought about the changes in the four seasons and the color matching of the sky, mountains, water, vegetation and trees in advance. . Therefore, in the process of designing and constructing Neuschwanstein Castle, it was the painters and stage set designers of the Opera House who played a greater role than the architects. Someone described: "Such a dream castle miraculously brings out the beauty of each season to the extreme, which is enough to make people fascinated. It would be redundant to describe it in words, because it does not belong to this real world at all. As long as you are there The scene, when you grab it, is pure poetry, without any trace of fireworks. "

"Neuswanstein Castle" took 17 years to build, and the castle is as big as the colonnade. , even the faucets in the toilets are all in the shape of a swan. At first, Ludwig II only used his personal assets to build the castle. Later, he could not make ends meet and began to seek loans from the treasury. "Neuswanstein Castle" was perfected step by step, and Ludwig II's treasury debt became increasingly heavy. At the age of 41 (1886), his uncle Prince Luitpold finally took action, conspired with the ministers, bribed all members of the royal medical team, and announced that Ludwig II was suffering from severe mental illness and needed to be recuperated. He was observed for one year, and then troops were sent to escort him to Munich for house arrest.

No one could have imagined that Ludwig II, whose life was full of passion, romance, and extraordinary energy, died on the fifth day after leaving Neuschwanstein Castle. The bodies of Ludwig II and his psychiatrist Bernhard van Guden were found on the shores of Lake Steinbern in Munich. In this regard, the official theory is that Ludwig II drowned himself after killing Guden. But the autopsy showed that there was no water in Ludwig II's lungs. There are also rumors that he was shot to death.

Can he be freed from the crime of murder?

The "Neuschwanstein Castle" built by Ludwig II is known as "the most beautiful castle in Europe". He was famous for his outstanding achievements in art and architecture. Achievements in engineering, machinery and other aspects have also aroused people's strong interest.

The British "Observer" reported in August 2006 that Ludwig II had designed a flying machine during his lifetime. If it were put into practice, he might have made it earlier than the Wright brothers in the United States. He invented the airplane in ten years and became a pioneer in aviation in the world. Ludwig II's sketches showed that the flying machine looked like a modern subway car, powered by steam and decorated with peacock patterns. Ludwig II hoped to drive this "flying universal car" across the mountains of the Alps.

German aviation expert Dalibor Kalacic believes that Ludwig II’s flying machine is not a castle in the air. "It is technically sound and has the potential to become a reality. This king was just ahead of his time." Ludwig II's idea of ??a flying machine was not only not recognized at the time, but was instead considered to be seriously mentally ill. Another example of disease.

The mysterious death of Ludwig II has always attracted people's attention. His remains are currently kept in a sarcophagus in St. Michael's Church in Munich. Scientists believe that with the help of modern cutting-edge medical technology such as "virtual anatomy", it is entirely possible to determine the true cause of the king's death.

The "virtual anatomy" technology comprehensively uses computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to make the image three-dimensional and clearly display the electronic image of the corpse. In this way, pathologists will be able to fully observe Ludwig II's "digital corpse". Michael Talley, the inventor of the "virtual anatomy" technology and head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland, believes that although Ludwig II has been dead for more than 120 years, this new technology is still applicable.

However, the descendants of Ludwig II’s family members firmly oppose any analysis of Ludwig II’s remains by scientists, even if these analyzes may save the king from “murderous crimes”. "criminal" reputation.