Luise von Kobell · Public domain
19th century · 1845–1886
Ludwig II
Ludwig II. von Bayern · Germany
King of Bavaria, 'the Fairy-Tale King'
King of Bavaria from 1864, known as 'the Swan King' and 'the Fairy-Tale King', and a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner. He built Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. He was deposed on 12 June 1886 and found dead with his doctor in Lake Starnberg the next day.
Where the story happened
Los lugares que dejó
Historia · Neuschwanstein Castle
The Fairy-Tale King's private retreat
Ludwig II wanted to escape the constraints of the Munich court, so he built Neuschwanstein in the northern foothills of the Alps as a private retreat and a tribute to Wagner. Work began in 1869, funded by the king's private fortune and extensive borrowing, not by Bavarian public funds. The king died in 1886, and the castle opened to the public soon after his death. In 2025 Neuschwanstein was inscribed as a World Heritage Site together with the king's other palaces.
Historia · Nymphenburg Palace
A palace built to celebrate the birth of a prince
In 1664 the Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife Henriette Adelaide ordered Nymphenburg Palace built to celebrate the birth of their heir, Maximilian II Emanuel. More than a century later another famous prince arrived: on 25 August 1845 Ludwig II, who would later build Neuschwanstein, was born in the queen's bedchamber of the palace.
