Neuschwanstein

Ludwig built a reputation for renovation and construction of the royal palaces of Bavaria. He had three castles built under his direction - Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof. Out of the three Neuschwanstein ("New Swan Stone") would be the more famous worldwide. More than six million people have visited the castle, yet Ludwig had no intention in allowing anyone in while he was alive. The Bavarian government lifted this restriction in order to pull itself out of the debt he made to build it. Visitors are not allowed to take photographs of the inside. The castle is the inspiration for three Disney castles – the logo, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. It is the most photographed castle and is a representation of a fairytale castle.  Ludwig wrote to Wagner, that is was castle in the “authentic style of the old German knights.” He also wrote to Wagner: "It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin of Hohenschwangau near the Pöllat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles, and I must confess to you that I am looking forward very much to living there one day..." The Alpsee and Schwansee, near Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, are great for swimming and with the Faulenbacher Tal form a nature reserve.

            Ludwig had named the castle "New Hohenschwangau Castle" (Neue Burg Hohenschwangau) but when he died the name was of the castle was named Neuschwanstein (New Swan Castle), unashamedly harks back to the German Romanesque of the 13th century. Neuschwanstein was built, starting in 1869, on a mountaintop next to Ludwigs' father's favourite castle Hohenschwangau, the construction to be only three years. A steam-powered crane and road locomotive (or steam tractoe) eased the movement of materials up the steep mountain. The castle is settled above the village Hohenschwangau close to the German-Austrian border and not far away from Füssen. Ludwig's father had already admired the scenery around Hohenschwangau. He had paths and lookout points built, as well as the "Marienbrücke" over the Pöllat Gorge which was present to his wife Marie, which was later renewed and made stable, these measures would not have improved its appearance in any way. But in 1866 Ludwig, despite it significance he found it ugly and had replaced the bridge with a more secure yet ornate filigree iron construction. The ruins of the two medieval castles, located on the narrow mountain ridge called "Jugend," had been visited frequently by Crown Prince Ludwig when he stayed at Hohenschwangau. There are numerous wall paintings depict scenes from Wagner's operas, that have dominant imagery of Christian glory and chaste love, and were likely intended to help Ludwig live up to his fathers religious ideals. Up until his death the castle was still being built, 200 to 300 workers a day, and one floor left unfinished to this day. For those outside of Germany it is by far the best known landmark there. The workers were covered by health an social 'insurance' that was exemplary for the time. Neuschwanstein was built on an island in the middle of Lake Chiemsee in the far east of Bavaria is in its own way equally remarkable. Ludwig chose Herreninsel on Lake Chiemsee because of its wonderful location, in the middle of Germany’s third-largest lake, within striking distance of the Alps. Near the end of 1873 the gatehouse, cased with red bricks, was completed and furnished, so Ludwig could live there during his visits to watch the further work on the castle. The chapel and the Moorish hall were amongst the objects abandoned after he died. Other structures were completed in a simplified form. Bavaria became a republic in 1918, and since then the Bavarian Palace Department managed Neuschwanstein. Thanks to its secluded location, the palace was not destroyed during the second world war.

            The design for the castle was planned by stage designer Christian Jank and Eduard Riedel was the architect of the project. Yet, during the building period Ludwig rejected original plans, he introduced new ideas and had so much control over the design that the result can be regarded as his design. Arcitect Julius Hofman provided the interior plans and in 1884 he took over to design both Burg Falkenstein and the Byzantine and Chinese palaces.  He would later be Luitpold's (Ludwig uncle) senior architectural advisor. The castle consists of several individual structures decorated with towers, turrets and sculptures. The castle stretches about 150m on top of the ridge. According to the plans, at the western end there should have more than 200 rooms, but only 15 rooms and halls were completed. Ludwig  dreamed of journeying to Neuschwanstein by balloon. There is a spacious two-story balcony that punctuates from the west front where he could bask up the beauty of the sunset. On the west facade only visible from a distance through a talescope or powerful telephoto lens, grotesque heads with wild eyes and fierce grimaces ward off evil here. The round arches of the loggia give the facade a Romanesque or Norman tinge. In one drawing of the castle by Jank a tall keep was shown but never built. A conservatory had also been built here, for it may be smaller than the one at the residential palace in Munich it has been preserved to this day – unlike the one in Munich.

            The Connecting Building links the Palas with the Gateway building. The latter was first to be completed and used by Ludwig as a temporary apartment during the construction. Richly ornamental capitals frame the grand view of the Bavarian mountains from the west balcony. The left building is still referred to as the Bower and the right as the Knight's House. In the middle is the Palas or great hall, as the main living quarters of a medieval castle is usually called. The doors to less important rooms are still elaborately decorative. In May 1884, Ludwig moved into his living quarters on the third floor of the Palas. His study was equipped with furniture by Anton Pössenbacher, textiles by the Jörres sisters and lights by Eduard Wollenweber. The murals show scenes from the Tannhäuser saga. The baldachin in the bedroom is an orgy of mock Gothic carving, its design highly ornate and beautifully intricate. Ludwig had a washbasin with hot and cold running water installed here – not surprisingly in the shape of a swan. The bedroom is the only neo-geothic room in an otherwise neo-Romanesque castle. Modern techniques, like the iron pillar, were decoratively hidden. In one painting one sees Tristan's farewell. Next to the bedroom is his small private chapel. The Salon (or living room) is the Swan Alcove where he liked to read. The Alcove has decoratively sculpted capitals top the pillars which separate it from the rest of the Salon. The large mural by Wilhelm Hauschild show the miracles of the Grail and Lohengrin's selection by the Holy Grail.

            The places open to tourists are the grounds, the king's residential quarters, the servant's rooms, the kitchens and the monumental throne room. The throne itself was never completed, although there are sketches showing how it might have looked when finished. Ludwig even chose to wallow in the Middle Ages at mealtimes. The dining room is decorated with motifs of the Wartburg Castle Singers' Contest, while the table is crowned with a centrepiece depicting Siegfried's battle with the dragon. His sleeping quarters show a clear Gothic influence and are even embellished with details referencing Wagner's operas. The dressing table even has a swan-shaped tap inspired by “Lohengrin”. The Grotto, located between the salon and the study, is by far the most unusual room. A small waterfall and coloured lighting created the impression of a mysterious cave and a hidden opening in the ceiling enabled him to listen to the music in the Singers' Hall above.

            The Singers' Hall is the largest room in the castle. When Ludwig visited Wartburg Castle in 1867, he was impressed with the Singers' Hall that he had one built in his own here incorporating aspects of a banqueting hall. The Singers' Hall is the largest room (27x10metres). Ludwig was able to enjoy the hall in its full construction – if only for a small amount of time. It was one of Ludwig's favourite projects, inspired by the Sängersaal at Wartburg Castle. Swirling patterns, miniature pillars with richly decorated capitals and huge murals between the windows adorn the long side of the hall. One being of Parsifal being made king if the Holy Grail by Kundry. Standard lamps lit with candles create an ethereal glow, and the murals illustrate romantic and heroic scenes like the wedding of Parsifal and Condwiramurs and Parsifal's battle with the Red Knight.

            The throne room and castle as a whole was Ludwig's nineteenth century attempt to revive the Middle Ages, with the employing some of the latest architectural techniques. The Throne Hall with 20x12 metres is the 2nd largest room in the palace. The designs for the throne room, some of the most complex of the nineteenth century, were even drawn up by Ludwig. Just like buildings today the supporting iron framework was concealed beneath plaster. Built from 1881, the splendid throne room was never actually used and still lacked a throne – a bad omen. The centre dome of the throne room is based off the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (which is now Istanbul). The original had to be shored with supports as  it threatened to collapse. Ludwig use technology to build a supporting iron construction around it. This probably made securing the enormous chandelier easier and safer. The decorative and ornamental frescos on the rounded arches give the room a distinctive Byzantine appearance. Today some may find the blue and gold too much, but it was all the rage at the time. The apse was inspired by the church of All Saints Court Church in Munich. The symbols of the Evangelists are depicted in the transverse arch, with angels in the ceiling spandrels proffering the symbols of kinship. Among the six holy kings dotted amongst the palm trees is the French ruler St Louis, Ludwig namesake. Underneath the lower row of pillars, murals depict the deeds of the holy kings where they are continued on the upper story. The Singer's Hall is in the upper story is the climax of the tour to the castle, which is based on the Historicist room of the same name at the Wartburg near Eisenach.

Linderhof

This is what I have collected for my book. There is other information about this castle, but this is what I have so far.

In 1868 he was making his first plans one of two French inspired castles, Linderhof, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by him were ever built. Linderhof was planned by architect Georg Dollmann and Christian Jank also worked on the castle. It is a grand setting from the mountains and by Carl von Effner's gardens. Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father. It is an ornate palace in neo-Rococo style, with beautiful formal gardens. The richly ornamented façade of this simingly small castle conceals a world of opulence, radiant with gold and gleaming mirrors, with wall hangings and paintings, velvet and silk, crystal chandeliers, lapis lazuli, malachite and porcelain.

            The grounds contain  the magnificent Venus Grotto where opera singers performed on an underground lake lit with electricity, a novelty at the time. The Grotto remained in its original site, whereas the Hunding's Hut (Hundinghütte) and the Gurnemanz Hermitage (Einsiedelei des Gurnemanz) were intitally a few kilometres away in the heart of the forest. In 1882 painter Heinrich Breling, was promoted to court artist by Ludwig, painted a watercolour of the Hunding's Hut which was used in 1990 for its reconstruction. According to Richard Wagner the branches of a ash pierced the roof of the hut. Also a Romantic woodsman's hut built inside an artificial tree, that relate back to one of Wagner's operas. A Moorish kiosk/pavilion, also there, that reveals Ludwig’s love of Arabic exoticism. It is said that the he liked to sit in oriental splendour while being fanned by shirtless, in shape young men. The Moorish Kiosk was built by Berlin architect Karl von Diebitsch for the 1867 Paris Exposition. Ludwig manged to procure the kiosk for the park in Linderhof in 1876. The view of the grotto from the castle is blocked by the huge centuries old linden tree of which gave it name to the castle. Despite requests from builders and garden designers to have the tree removed he insisted that it stay. In 1875 Ludwig's architect Georg von Dollmann desgin a theatre for Linderhof and artiest Ferdinard Knab finished a sketch with the linden in the foreground. Ludwig not carry out the the theatre, not because he did not like the design but felt that Carl Joseph von Effner's gardens were enough of a “backdrop” and the theatre would spoil it. The strict axial symmetry of the steps leading up to the Temple of Venus is only interrupted by the tree. Down in the parterre fountains the goddess Flora looks up to her colleague Venus – the goddess of love – in the Linderbichl. Where the theatre was planned now stands a rouind Greek temple featuring a larger than life statue of Venus. She is flanked by two smaller amoretti (or goddess of love). In the middle of the Eastern Parterre in the palace gardens Venus and Adonis are surrounded by allegories of the four elements. Venus is in deep in converstion with her love, the god of beauty, while the gilt Cupid fires arrows of love in the background. The Music Pavilion acts as a northern viewpoint with the grand vistas of Linderhof, gardens, Temple of Venus and the Kuchelberg beyond. Fama, the goddess of fame and gossip, trumpets truth and loes into the air, her wings serving to aid the rapid spread of tittle-tattle. Respite from her malicious fanfares under the pergolas behind her. On the east facade of the castle has cupid aiming his bow at it, where the dining room is, here Ludwig could 'receive' Cupid's messages of love several times a day.

            The bedroom was lit by an enormous glass chandelier holding 108 candles and made by the Lobmeyer company. The ceiling fresco by August Spieß junior depicts the apotheosis of King Louis XIV of France – an elevation to the tank of a god. The bedroom id furnished with a state bed, but Ludwig was unable to see the room in its present state as the extension and redesign he ordered in June 1886 was incomplete at the time of his death. The staircase is lit by a glass roof, an absolute novelty in its day and age. From the Vestibule below doors leas off to the servants' quarters which is way the entrance hall is rater small for a royal castle. The Yellow Cabinet is a through room adjoining the Audience Room, where a portrait of the Duke of Belle-Isle (1684-1761) who was a successful general and marshal of France. His bedroom, complete with a state bed, was never to be seen by him in the present state due to extensions and redesign ordered in June 1886, being incomplete due to his death. Even if there was no throne in Linderhof, he was nevertheless reluctant to do his without a baldachin over his desk in his Audience Room. He saw this castle as his private abode than as a castle of royal representation and prestige, no audiences were held here in his lifetime. In the Dining Room is a white Meißen porcelain chandelier suspended like a crown over the table. It forms a charming contrast to the vivid colouring of the ceiling and the gilt stucco. The carvings on the panelling and the stucco on the ceiling depict the activities which once decked the royal table: hunting, fishing, agriculture and horticulture. Also in the Dining Room, there is a mirror with an elaborately carved frame above each of the two fireplaces made of Tegernsee marble. The candles on the fireplaces and the chandelier are reflected in these two mirrors and in a third tucked in between the windows, flooding the room with a warm and atmospheric light. The mirrors also reflect the gilt stucco and many paintings in this luxurious room. The Lilac Cabinet is also a homage to the kings of France. The pastels of King Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour have been given particularly lavish gold frames. The king's lady love was prudent enough to win the favour of the queen and become her lady in waiting. In the Moorish kiosk Ludwig had it refurbished according to his specifications. This is where you find what is missing in the castle: a throne. It could hardly be any more luxurious and thus one of the most famous attraction of all Ludwig's castles.

            In 1869 Ludwig II had the forester's house rebuilt and appointed as the "King's Cottage" (phase 1). The palace is a celebration to Louis XIV of France. In the palace, imagery reflects Ludwig's fascination with the absolutist government of Ancient Regime France. Ludwig saw himself as the "Moon King", a Romantic shadow of the earlier "Sun King", Louis XIV. There is a lavish bed/reception room, Hall of Mirrors and elaborate gilded tapestries. Under the supervision of the court building director Georg Dollmann,  in 1870 a wing with a single axis extension was added (phase 2). While this was still being completed, the original plans for the building were substantially revised. From spring 1871 a second wing was built to match the first extension, with a bedroom forming the connection between the two wings (phase 3). A wooden staircase on the west side provided access to the u-shaped complex built around an open courtyard, and the King's Cottage thus became superfluous; the initial retention of this building indicates the king's emotional attachment to it. The complex created forms the core of the castle. Its upper floor was a wooden post and beam construction clad with boards, while the lower floor was plastered; because of the wooden structures it was known as the "Alpine Hut Building". Its simple exterior gave no hint of the splendour inside. In February 1873, Ludwig approved a plan which began the final design of the castle. First the wooden construction was clad with solid stone and covered with a cross-shaped complex of new roofs (phase 4). With no interior staircase, this section of the building formed the core of the new palace. On 20 January 1874 the king gave permission for the "King's Cottage" to be moved to its present location, about 200 metres away, and the new south tract was built in its place (phase 5). By 1876 work completed on the interior of the south tract. In 1874 the final plans for the landscape park were submitted by court garden director Carl Joseph von Effner. In 1885/86 there was a final rebuilding phase. The bedroom was widened and extended to the north (phase 6). This required extensive rebuilding of the palace and a new central section for the north façade, including a new roof for this area. No further additions were made to the palace, which now measured 30 x 27 metres. He did not live to see the completion of the new bedroom. One of the most famous sights may not seen as such immediately. The famous dining table (Tischeindeck-dich) has a recessed top where the royal feast could be placed out of sight and served when required, creating the illusion that the table was laid as if by magic.

            Linderhof can be called a royal villa for compared to the generous proportions it looks a little like a summer house. The geometric arrangement of steps, fountains and hedging complements the irregular curves and contours of the Bavarian Alps. The fountains shoot twenty-two metres (seventy two feet) into the air. They operate on the pressure caused by the natural drop in the land. In this fountain behind the veil of the water is Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and the spring season, gazing benevolently at the castle. Together with the cherubs seated at her feet, their hands over their ears to drown out the sound of the fountain, this group of figures is probably the most famous in the park. The French baroque border lined with hedges of box are paternally 'minded' by the enormous royal linden tree. It may seem that the castle is second best to this display of horticulture. It is from here that Ludwig enjoyed moonlit sleigh rides in an elaborate eighteenth century  sleigh, complete with footmen in eighteenth century uniform. The sleigh can be viewed today with other royal carriages at the Carriage Museum at Castle Nymphenburg in Munich. He was known to stop and visit with rural peasants while on rides, adding to his popularity. It is the most compact/ smallest and  the eventual result of a long period of building and rebuilding, the only castle of Ludwig's that was completed, it finished in 1878.

            Findings that have come out between 2008 and 2011 found that like a lot of other buildings, the climate has taken its toll. And the results have been published in at least three articles. The climate in the castle is extreme all year round due to the fact that it is settled near the Alps. The outdoor climate is affected by long periods of frost and snow in the winter, as well as by rapid weather changes in the summer. The span in temperature is consequently very wide. In 2010, outdoor temperatures ranging from -17.3°C to 30.5°C were measured. The relative humidity (RH) is constantly very high, in 2010 the average was 90.8%.[i] There is no air-conditioning system, so the indoor climate follows the outside climate, buffered to some extent by the building. Thus sub-zero temperatures in the state rooms occur regularly. The indoor climates of each room in the palace differ substantially. Two rooms located at opposite ends of the palace were chosen to illustrate the differences. The Hall of Mirrors is south facing, and the Lilac Cabinet is at the northwest of the palace. Climate data were captured from loggers located in the middle of each room. The differences in temperature, relative and absolute humidity between both rooms are illustrated by the grey line. In the Lilac Cabinet, the relative humidity was always higher than in the Hall of Mirrors, while the temperature was always lower. Paintings, particularly in oil and acrylic, can be strongly affected by temperatures below zero due to their low glass transition temperatures. They can become brittle and flake. In this case, the effect of temperature is far more detrimental than the effect of relative humidity. In the following table, the three major risks related to the indoor climate in the Linderhof Palace are analysed according to various guidelines taken from the literature. Data from the Hall of Mirrors and the Lilac Cabinet reflecting the indoor climate for a period of one year were used. As the guidelines referring to average indoor climates do not usually take into account local microclimates, data from the surface measurement in the Lilac Cabinet were used for comparison.

            Condition photographs were compared in order to evaluate deterioration and damage during recent years. A photographic condition survey of all immovable furnishings was undertaken in 1992. Certain types of damage were identified in this survey. For example, flaking and cracks in gilded surfaces, which indicate climate-related deterioration, as well as water marks caused by historic water leaks or surfaces which had been abraded due to touching by visitors. This type of damage was described and photographs of particular examples were taken in every room. These images allowed the condition of the collection in the 1990s to be compared with the present condition. Oil paintings and gilded surfaces were selected for particular investigation as these were best documented. Due to the risk of mould growth at high relative humidities, particular care was taken to examine corners with little air exchange or air flow. The gilded ornaments were composed of wooden supports, glue layers, priming, bolus, covered with gold leaf and a coating. Only the gilded wooden decoration on the walls in the bedroom was created with a different technique, here the wooden support had very thin priming and the gold leaf was fixed with an oily binding media. The oil paintings had a thin priming, with a thin occasionally opaque paint layer, covered with a varnish.

            This comparison of predictions drawn from an analysis of environmental data with a conservation condition survey has demonstrated that the predictions derived from the climate data alone are limited. The results of the environmental data analysis differ according to the particular guidelines used, which undermines the efficacy of such an approach. A room never has one single climate, and there is most potential for damage in extreme local microclimates. When predicting future damage, it is also necessary to take into account the specific characteristics of different composite materials. Last but not least, there is a considerable lack of knowledge about the risk of new damage posed by long-term deviation from the environmental guidelines. Further investigations are necessary to determine the limits of nonhazardous short-term fluctuations as evidence. The new method to analyse climate data should be further developed as a standard tool. This work will need to include a critical review of the definition of short-term fluctuation, the response of different materials and the applicability of experimental data obtained by step functions in climate chambers in comparison with real climates.[ii]

            The outer and inner walls of the building are made of bricks. On the inner side in every room a special construction made of wooden panels is assembled on the wall with a certain distance of a few centimetres to the wall. Gilded carvings, paintings and decorations are fixed on these wooden panels. The windows in the palace are still the original wooden single glazed windows of the construction period. All of them are in a good condition. The joinery work is well performed, all joints are closed and gaps are narrow. All windows in the ground floor are always closed. The windows in the upper floor are also all single framed. Only in the bedchamber there are boxed windows with two single glazed frames. Every day when the palace is shut down additional inner shutters on the windows are closed. This may improve the air tightness of the windows considerably. During opening hours the windows are opened by the tour guides. If the weather is not too bad the guides open the windows as required. This means during summer almost all windows are open during opening hours in the upper floor, where the showrooms are. Only in the bedchamber the windows are always closed. The palace is opened in summer period from 7.00 a.m. starting ventilation with opening of all windows in the upper floor due to odour and cleaning until 8.00 a.m. The guided tours lead only to the upper floor and the royal rooms with rich furnishing on interior surface.[iii]

---

[i]           Comparison of indoor climate analysis according to current climate guidelines with the conservational investigation using the example of Linderhof Palace

            Kristina HollJournal: climate for Collections: Standards and uncertainties

            Edited by Jonathan Ashley-Smith, Andreas Burmester and Melanie EiblPostprints of the Munich Climate Conference

            7 to 9 November 2012

[ii]          The moving fluctuation range – a new analytical method for evaluation of climate fluctuations in historic buildings

            Stefan Bichlmair, Kristina Holl and Ralf KilianJournal: climate for Collections: Standards and uncertainties

            Edited by Jonathan Ashley-Smith, Andreas Burmester and Melanie Eibl

            Postprints of the Munich Climate Conference

            7 to 9 November 2012

[iii]         ROOM CLIMATE IN LINDERHOF PALACE

            Impact of ambient climate and visitors on room climate with a special

            focus on the bedchamber of King Ludwig II.

            Stefan Bichlmair, Ralf Kilian“CLIMATIZATION OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS, STATE OF THE ART”

            Linderhof Palace, December 2nd, 2010Ralf Kilian, Tomáš Vyhlídal, Tor Broström (Ed.)

            DEVELOPMENTS IN CLIMATE CONTROL OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS

King Ludwig II, Realtiy and Mystery

Hans Rall, Michael Petzet, Franz Merta, 2001, Verlag Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg

This book is divided into three sections, one each done by the authors. The third being an overview, done by Merta, of Ludwigs' sojourns in residences, castles and mountain lodges. The first part is of his life and death. It starts out more of the time he becomes king and not his life up to that moment. He gets to the point he wants to make more or less talking of his family's history – in a way of replacement of the childhood part. But by talking of what he inherited helps in his point than talking of his childhood. The points he makes are quick and straightforward, there is no real elaboration. It is a small book, and they likely discussed not making it that long. Yet in the credits at the beginning it is stated it a biography, one would think the biography part would include some moments of his childhood.

Then the book moves to Ludwig's life in pictures, each one describing who and when so it is easy to know what is going on. It is interesting to see his life in different pictures and formats – photographs or painting. It is quicker to get through since it is pretty much all pictures. You get more of a visual of the people and scenes that were around him in his life. They put a face on the people that is talked about in other articles and books about Ludwig. Also one gets to see how he aged and parts of the castles he commissioned, how grand these castles are.

The third part does go into the buildings he built, spent time in or had planned to build. And it is nice to see another point on how he felt about his buildings and him growing what his father and grandfather had done before in buildings – but more for private use. Merta brings in the more personal side to the buildings. He does continue on unpublished and published sources, with showing and talking about some of those primary sources in this part of the chapter. This part can be helpful with getting some primary documents if one is looking for some. There is also a timeline starting in 1864 to 1886, of where he was. So one gets a little bit of a timeline of where he was since becoming king.

Once again, it is a short book and can be a quick look if you are skimming over it. It is useful for some information, but at times tells and shows the reader information that they might have already read.

the mad king a biography of ludwig II of bavaria

“The Dream King, Ludwig II of Bavaria,” Wilfrid Blunt

1970, The Viking Press, Inc. NY, USA

There have been two companies that released this book, the one above and by George Rainbird Limited for Hamish Hamilton, London. I have found one variation to these copies – one image has two different castles for the same image. This book is rich of primary sources and imagery but there is that problem of about two and a half inches of margin form the center to the text. If the margins were smaller where the was no images on the side a few pages could have been saved. It is a great source of information and has a chapter just on Tristan (one of Wagner's works). It a book that is useful when it comes to his life, Wagner and images of his castles. Though I have older versions/editions of the book and have not seen an edition that was recently released. The book does describe Ludwig's behaviour, hate, and at times uninterested in king even though he loved his country and people. All aspect that would have to disconnecting from it when times were unfavourable. The book is not fully depth of his life – at times more towards Wagner and the works.

Ludwig II

by the artist Higuri You, published by Kadokawa Shoten

three-volume manga, I have seen to have only found the first two on kobo, and number one through Chapters, a highly fictionalized account of Ludwig's love life. There are some historical accuracy to it like places, events and names. It is a good read, quick, and if you are a person who likes to read the more visual books like graphic novels and manga this may be one for you. Also if you are a person who likes to read historical fiction.

If you are a fan of manga you may like this because it does fall under that category. And you do not have to be a history buff or know that much or at all of Ludwig. Just be aware like I said before – it does exaggerate his love life. For it is a part of his life we do not much about and may not fully know unless we get first hand accounts/reports of it. I wish I copied the website, but there is one where you can read it all online.

The Mad King: the life and times of Ludwig II of Bavaria

Greg King, 1996, A Birch Lane Press Book, Published by Carol Publishing Group, N.J., USA

On the cover it does say “The Mad King a Biography of Ludwig II of Bavaria.” In this book he talks of the people (ex. Parents, governess, aide-de-camps) and surroundings (ex education, summer excursions) that made him who he was from early childhood into his later years. In some cases of how these made him “mad.” As well talks of what the people were doing at the same time of his life and how it mixed.

The book is more descriptive than the other books listed above. It does goes in chronological order in short chapters. Quick and easy with quotes integrated in, whether a sentence or a full quote. There is almost like story writing. Some photographs are in the book – all in black and white, could have been in colour.

“The Castles of King Ludwig II,” Ernest Wrba & Michael Kühler

“The Castles of King Ludwig II,” Ernest Wrba & Michael Kühler, Stürtz, 2008, Verlagshaus Würzburg GmbH & Co, Leipzig, Germany

This is a hardcover book about his castles, under a series “Castles & Palaces.” As per title, this book focuses on his castles and has many photographs in the book, from small images to full two page spreads. The photographs and images are beautiful of himself and his castles. There is background/ history of the castles and the relation to Ludwig and even Richard Wagner – more between him and Ludwig. At the back there is a map showing where the castles and other locations are situated. The photos tell of their history, what they mean, and/or what they are made of. Instead of a textbook telling you what they look like and you having to image it from the text, this book gives you a blast of images to look at when going from Neuschwanstein to Linderhof to Herrenchiemsee. You see the detail he wanted in his castles and what was put in, how they fit into the landscape – more Neuschwanstein then the others. This book is not only for those who love Ludwig but have an interest or love for castles and how these castles are put together and loved and awed by many.

“The Swan King Ludwig II of Bavaria,” Christopher McIntosh

I find great interest with King Ludwig. This is a book I have found years ago for a school project. This edition I got awhile back so I could have a copy of my own. Here is a review of the book - I also did a video on my YouTube channel.

 

“The Swan King Ludwig II of Bavaria,” Christopher McIntosh, new revised edition 2012, I. B. Tauris

It was first published in 1982, and had a few published editions since. A few images place in the middle of the book. He has a preface to the 2012 edition and of what has happened since his first edition of the book in 1982. With the limited English books of biographies that I found available to me, I feel that McIntosh does a very good job st describing his life from birth, to his relationship with Richard Wagner, Sophie to the wars he had to deal with to his castle and death, as well as after his death. If looking for direct quotes it is not the book; there is a merge of quotes and retelling to a way telling it almost as a story with no dialogue. But it is a good thing that he has done this because the reader gets the information straight up and no interruptions of the quotes, whether it is just a line or letter, even an image. Any book related to Ludwig is good, and any book about him is great.