"Mad" King Ludwig was a crazy guy. He was born in 1846, but lived in a dream world, obsessed with medieval times and Romanticism. He inherited the throne at 18 but didn't really have much power beyond being a pawn of Prussia or Austria in their power struggle. Hence his obsession with medieval times when kings had legitimate power. He was BFFs with Richard Wagner, the famous composer whose operas were based on these same medieval ideals. He ruled 22 years but spent most that time away from politics in Munich, at Hohenschwangau, designing his dream castle.
Neuschwanstein (new swan stone) was first designed by a theatre set designer, then an architect. It's the castle that inspired Walt Disney. Ludwig spent 17 years building it but only spent 172 days in it with only 1/3 of the interior complete. He was declared mentally unfit to rule Bavaria and evicted. He died tragically and mysteriously - found dead in a lake 2 days later along with his psychiatrist...
Unfortunately, half of the exterior was being renovated, so the most impressive views were obstructed with scaffolding. But google it to see how impressive and Cinderella-like it truly is.
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