Ludwig II: The Mad King of Bavaria

Magnificent castles, mental health, and a suspicious death

Jun 06, 2025

Hi all, and welcome back to rumblewrites. During my trip to Munich in March, I became fascinated by one of the Bavarian Kings: Ludwig II. This post is a little insight into his life, achievements, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. This is weird tale of an isolated life - I hope you enjoy.

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Background

Ludwig II was born at Nymphenberg Palace in Munich on 21 August 1895.

Bedroom in which Ludwig II was born at Nymphenberg Palace, Munich [source: me]

After his father’s death in 1864, Ludwig ascended to the throne at age 19. But he was not a natural ruler: in fact, he rather disliked it. He avoided public events, social gatherings, and governance in general. He chose to retain his father’s policies and ministers, and largely distanced himself from the politics of ruling, rather choosing to concern himself with cultural pursuits. He was a patron of the arts, most notably of the composer Richard Wagner, and introduced European dramas like Shakespeare, Mozart, and Ibsen to Munich theatre-goers. Most famously, however, Ludwig built 3 magnificent castles.

After a visit to France in 1867, where Ludwig saw the Château de Pierrefonds and Palace of Versailles, he found Bavaria lacking in a comparable celebration of its culture. This is something he sought to fix through his equally ambitious and beautiful architectural endeavours:

Linderhof

Linderhof was the only of Ludwig’s palaces which was completed within his lifetime. It was built in neo-French Rococo style, and chocked full of extravagant gold decorations and iconography reflecting Ludwig’s fascination with the French absolutism of the Ancien Régime. He self-styled as the ‘Moon King’, a Romantic shadow of the earlier ‘Sun King’: Louis XIV of France.

Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein Castle is a Romanesque fortress situated in the Alpines of Bavaria, towering above Ludwig’s childhood home Hohenschwangau Castle, constructed by his father. The walls of Neuschwanstein are decorated with frescoes depicting scenes from the legends used in Wagner’s operas, and the castle itself is dedicated to Wagner and their friendship.

Ludwig imagined it as his permanent residence, and he moved into the (still unfinished) castle in 1884. However, he died only 172 days later. Constructed halted upon his death, and ultimately only 15 of the planned over 200 rooms had been finished.

Neuschwanstein Castle [source: me]

Herrenchiemsee

Ludwig intended Herrenchiemsee to be a tribute to King Louis XVI of France, and a partial replica of the Palace of Versailles. Similarly to Neuschwanstein, construction on the castle ended upon Ludwig’s death: this time, only the central portion of the castle had been finished, with 50 of the planned 70 rooms left empty.

Controversy and deposition

King Ludwig II, age 22, in 1867 [source: The Atlantic]

As I mentioned, Ludwig had never really taken an interest in politics, but as his reign progressed, he became increasingly withdrawn from central Bavaria and its government. He sunk more and more money into his creative projects. He did not take this from the state, however, but he fully exhausted his personal funds and the extra money he borrowed from his family. While this ruling situation caused tensions within the government itself, it seemed to have little impact on Ludwig’s popularity with the people. In fact, Ludwig’s castle projects provided employment for hundreds of local labourers and artisans and brought a considerable flow of money to the relatively poor regions in which his castles were built.

Despite this, Ludwig’s ministers were growing increasingly weary of his spending habits and absence from government. They had also been threatened with replacement by Ludwig himself, so they decided to act first. They decided to lobby for his constitutional deposition on the rationale that he was mentally ill, and therefore unable to rule. So, between January and March 1886, they assembled the Ärztliches Gutachten, a medical report which listed complaints, accounts, and gossip about Ludwig from those at court who disliked him. This detailed his bizarre behavioural habits, violent tendencies, and unbridled extravagance. The degree to which these accusations were true is unknown, although it is unlikely, since none of the men who signed it had examined, or in most cases even met, Ludwig. However, they were successful, and on 12 June 1886 Ludwig was formally placed into custody and deposed.

Suicide? Theories of death

The following day, Ludwig and his personal physician, Bernhard von Gudden, went on a stroll around the grounds of Berg Castle. After dinner, Ludwig invited him on a second walk along the shore of Lake Starnberg, this time unsupervised by their attendants. The pair were last seen around 6:30; they were due back at 8pm, but they never returned. A search party was sent out and both Ludwig and Gudden were found in the shallow waters of the lake around 10:30pm. Ludwig’s watch had stopped at 6:54.

Ludwig’s death was officially ruled a suicide, but this theory doesn’t exactly hold up. He had been a strong swimmer and expressed no suicidal tendencies prior to his death. Both men’s bodies were found with the water only up to their waists, and no water was found in Ludwig’s lungs. So how did he die?

Speculation exists that Ludwig was murdered by his political enemies during an attempted escape. One account, given by his fisherman, was that Ludwig was shot. But again, no mention of a bullet wound, or any other injuries for that matter, were detailed in his autopsy report.

But perhaps the theory of an attempted escape is not wrong in itself. Gudden was found with strangulation marks around his neck, so it is possible that Ludwig tried to murder him before taking off. But before he could, he suffered a natural death caused by the cool waters: potentially a heart attack or stroke.

From his disinterest in ruling Bavaria to his impressive architectural endeavours and mysterious death, Ludwig II is a fascinating historical figure. His castles are visited by millions each year, and the claims of his insanity remain the subject of much medical intrigue. I’d say that he is not deserving of the title of ‘Mad King’, but that he was a very creative, passionate, and slightly delusional man with an artistic vision for his Bavaria which he unfortunately never saw accomplished.