The weather finally cleared up today, which made it the perfect day for a trip to Neuschwanstein.
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| The view of Neuschwanstein after getting off the bus. I knew it was going to be a good day! |
Neuschwanstein was built upon the ruins of an old castle in the late 1800s by King Ludwig II, also known as the Mad King. The story behind the castle and the Mad King started long before the castle was ever constructed.
Ludwig II had a very tough childhood. First off, him and his brother were constantly being clothed in dresses and other articles that were considered for little girls in the 1800. The practice centered around the belief that the Devil would try and bring harm to the young male royalty. In order to deceive the Devil, many young princes were clothed in dresses and blouses. To add to the plight of young royalty and Ludwig, it was believed that children should never be full in order to promote resilience and self reliance. As was the case, many young royalty would go to bed hungry even though there was plenty to eat. The final piece of this complex childhood were the regular beatings that Ludwig and his brother would endure. Ludwig's father, Maximilian II, believed the best way to raise his two princes was constant beatings.
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Ludwig II's childhood residence, where his father would beat him. However, Ludwig still loved the place, especially the surrounding nature-scapes [See below].
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| Just a brief glimpse to the natural beauty of the surrounding area. |
Maybe it was due to this tough childhood that young Ludwig became obsessed with the fairytale of the swan prince. This obsession was prominent throughout his life, especially during the construction of Neuschwanstein, which roughly translates into New Swan castle. However, there were other odd things about Ludwig during his 20s. As a very athletic, young man, he was a very eligible bachelor. However, he seemed to have no interest in his royal duties of getting married. At one point, he was arranged to marry his first cousin, but after several marriage postponements by the prince, the marriage was called off. Also in his late 20's, most of his teeth were rotting away; the result of a fondness for sweets. This caused him excruciating pain and so he started taking opium. Addiction quickly developed and Ludwig started to other drugs such morphine. Addicted to morphine and opium, Ludwig became withdrawn and spent all his time at Neuschwanstein, away from the common people, whom he despised.
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| View of the ceremonial gatehouse and main entrance to the castle. |
The royal family and dignitaries within the government could put up with Ludwig II's habits no longer. They conspired to have him proven clinically insane and thereby unfit to rule. His personal servants recounted strange stories of dinner parties filled with imaginary guests, where Ludwig was the only one in the room, and his strange nocturnal habits. A diagnosis by psychologists was passed down without ever meeting Ludwig II. Upon his diagnosis, Ludwig II was removed from his retreat at Neuschwanestein and sent to a psychiatric hospital where he died the next day under mysterious circumstances.
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| The building in the back is where Ludwig II spent many of his days on morphine and opium. |
The castle itself was built for purely aesthetic purposes and was designed in part by a set designer. While the outside was finished, the interior was never finished due to the death of Ludwig II. Only two interiors of the eight floors were completed, but these floors are quite spectacular and extravagant. It is important to note that Ludwig II deeply admired Richard Wagner, especially his opera the Swan Prince and built the Neuschwanestein as a tribute to Richard Wagner. As such, the interior designs all contain motifs from Alfred Wagner's operas. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed.
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| I actually took the photo above with my iPhone. There are only so many places where you can't take a bad picture. This is one of them. |
Off to Zurich, Switzerland tomorrow. I plan to basically relax in Zurich, so probably very limited posts about Zurich.
