>11844306 Neuschwanstein Castle: any particular significance?
Mad King Ludwig was murdered by DS there
Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria: Was His Death Suicide or Murder?
Updated: Jan 10
“I wish to remain an eternal enigma to myself and to others.” – Ludwig II
I’ve always been fascinated by murder mysteries. If you throw royalty into the mix, it’s an even juicier story. I’ve previously written about Vincent Van Gogh (suicide or murder?) and England’s Richard III (did he kill the princes in the tower?).
This time I turn my gaze on the fascinating Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria. A famous castle builder in Germany, his death by drowning is fishy and may be one of Germany’s greatest secrets.
Ludwig was a famous royal personality in 19th century Europe. He was variously known as the Swan King, the Dream King, the Night King, the Moon King, and the Fairytale King
The world remembers Ludwig for his fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein Palace, immortalized by Walt Disney as the Sleeping Beauty Palace. But that wasn’t the only castle Ludwig built. He had a maniacal spending addiction, much like his muse Marie Antoinette.
Ludwig’s ministers were mad as hornets over it, worrying the country would be bankrupt. In a supernova of escalating conflict, Ludwig was declared insane and deposed. 24 hours later, he was found dead in a lake.
Was Ludwig’s suspicious death the result of despondency and suicide? Or was the “suicide” trumped up fake news, an assassination and coup by his own government?
Let’s assess.
The Reluctant Young King
In 1864, as destiny portended, Ludwig ascended to the Bavarian throne at age 18. When he appeared at this father's funeral, he was virtually unknown to the public. His spectacular good looks and regal bearing made a deep impression on his subjects. The new king was instantly popular.
However, Ludwig came to the throne at a bad time. In 1866, Bavaria was on the losing end of tussles between Prussia and Austria. Ludwig was eventually forced to sign the Kaiserbrief, ceding Bavaria’s independence to the new German empire. Afterward only a vassal king, Ludwig felt emasculated as a ruler.
Ludwig’s Insanity Dossier: An Early Rendition of Fake News
Government officials were increasingly worried by Ludwig’s massive debt from castle building and his peculiar behavior. They secretly whispered about abdication and regency.
Ludwig threatened to fire the entire government, which was his right. The government could also make threats. They threatened to remove Ludwig if he didn't make some lifestyle changes. If need be, the government could legally declare Ludwig insane or unfit for the crown.
Who would act first? The government did, after months of clandestine plotting.
The ministers hired psychiatric professor Bernhard von Gudden, Head of the Munich Asylum, to do the nefarious deed. After all, he’d already declared Ludwig’s brother Otto insane. And mental illness wasn’t unusual in the inbred Wittelsbach family.
But the esteemed psychiatrist botched his most famous case.
Gudden released a sham report, now in German archives, more political than psychiatric. To be sure, it wasn’t that hard to find some form of “evidence” against the eccentric Ludwig. His behavior was clearly disordered and his mind ill-tuned to matters of statecraft.
But the Gudden dossier was based solely on the testimony of government spies and ex-servants, who may have been bribed. It blithely ignored facts in the king’s favor. It even ignored the king himself. Gudden never spoke to or personally evaluated Ludwig.
On July 12, 1886, Ludwig was formally arrested, after a brief showdown, at Neuschwanstein Palace. He was dragged off in a locked carriage to Berg Palace. Berg was pre-prepared as a royal insane asylum with locked doors, barred windows, spy holes drilled in the doors, and door handles removed.
The king became a prisoner in his own house.
Ludwig’s Death: the Assassination of the King of Fairytale King
24 hours after the bogus insanity certification, Ludwig was found dead at age 40. And so was the offending shrink.
The pair were found floating, waist deep, in shallow water in Lake Starnberg. Apparently, Ludwig had asked Gudden to take a stroll around the lake. Some think the stroll was a jailbreak to whisk away Ludwig.
Without any investigation, Ludwig’s death was promptly ruled a suicide. The theory advanced was that crazy Ludwig had, willy nilly, run into the shallow lake in despair while Gudden tried to restrain him.
Almost immediately, a cross was raised on a pedestal in the lake where Ludwig “drowned.” Ludwig was buried in St. Michael’s Church in Munich. His palaces were confiscated by the Bavarian state.
https://www.thegeographicalcure.com/post/mad-king-ludwig-s-death-suicide-or-murder