The Fairytale Castles of King Ludwig II

Ludwig II of Bavaria more commonly known by his nicknames the Swan King or the Dream King is a legendary figure - the handsome boy-king loved by his people betrayed by his cabinet and found dead in tragic and mysterious circumstances. He spent his life in pursuit of the ideal of beauty an ideal that found expression in three of the most extraordinary ornate architectural schemes imaginable - the castle of Neuschwanstein and the palaces of Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Today these three buildings are among Germany's biggest tourist attractions. Dan Cruickshank explores the rich aesthetic of Ludwig II - from the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein the iconic fairytale castle that became the inspiration for the one in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty to the rich Baroque splendour of Herrenchiemsee Ludwig's answer to Versailles. Dan argues that Ludwig's castles are more than flamboyant kitsch and are in fact the key to unravelling the eternal enigma of Ludwig II.