| Ludwig II, The Mad King |
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 Pablo Edronkin
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This king of Bavaria left his domains in total bankruptcy when he was finally and officially declared mad. But Ludwig II died soon afterwards in very odd and unclear circumstances, making murder a probable cause. He wasn't like that when he got the throne of that southern German state: A highly educated man, quite attractive for women and with impeccable manners, nevertheless he was very shy. Slowly but surely, the peculiar state of his mind affairs began to take over and he became obsessive and reclusive. He was also homosexual, something that in his position and at the time of his reign, during the second half of the nineteenth century, was considered a crime. He also suffered from syphilis, which explains at least part of his very peculiar behaviour. Architecture was nevertheless one of his favourite pastimes, and he had quite an idealised concept about medieval times so, being a king, quite crazy and obsessive, he ordered the construction of several fantasy castles and palaces, a feat that indeed, bankrupted the kingdom. Government officials and his own family could take no more and then he was declared insane and substituted; soon he died and so it is possible that he was also marked for elimination. But the product of his delusions, his castles and romantic constructions survived him and today constitute the most important tourist attractions in Germany, bringing to the country huge sums of money in profits from the sale of tickets to post cards and card sets sporting his image. Had he heeded to the advice of those around him, all that would not exist. A winner or a loser? You decide! |
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