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| Things To Know Traveling in Germany The North and the Baltic The Rhine The East The Black Forest and Bavaria Spa Towns Mad King Ludwig |
Mad King Ludwig
Ludwig II of Bavaria lost all interest in running his kingdom after it was drawn first into war and then into the German Empire
by the Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. The late 19th-century ruler was left with nothing to do but amuse himself,
which he did by having three flamboyant castles built - Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof and Neuschwanstein - and watching them take
shape through his telescope. Ludwig found other ways to spend his money, too, supporting Richard Wagner while he wrote his
operas, but eventually he ran out of cash altogether. This and his eccentric manner made him an increasing liability to the
Bavarian government. Its ministers plotted with Ludwig's uncle Luitpold to depose him and certify him insane. Only days later,
Ludwig and his doctor drowned in the Starnberger See, a boating lake near Munich - whether by accident or design, no one knows.
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