Mysterious death of the Mad King

1886 The death by drowning of King Ludwig II, King of Bavaria ('the Swan King'; 'the Mad King'; b. 1845). Ludwig, who had a history of mental disorders, and a long struggle with his homosexuality – and was a good swimmer – drowned in waist-deep water with his physician in Lake Starnberg, near Munich, Austria.

Ludwig was both friend and enemy of the composer Richard Wagner, whom he banished from Bavaria.

Shown is Ludwig's fantastic Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, a dramatic Romanesque fortress with Byzantine and Gothic interiors. Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland was largely modelled on this magical edifice. He actually built three castles, Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee, all at stupendous expense ...

Categories: history, mystery, germany, biography