December 2, 2019 • 7 mins
Walt Disney based Sleeping Beauty's castle -- the centerpiece of Disneyland and the Disney logo -- on a real castle in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Learn about Neuschwanstein Castle's strange and tragic history in this episode of BrainStuff.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey, brain Stuff,
Lauren Bogelbam. Here you can thank a mad Bavarian king
for the opening credits to every Disney movie. Before Walt
Disney built Disneyland, he and his wife Lillian toward Europe,
including a stop at the magnificent Neusch von Stein Castle
(00:22):
in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Disney was so impressed
with the skyscraping, turrets and towers of this faux Romanesque
structure that he used it as the model for Sleeping
Beauty's Castle, the centerpiece of Disneyland and now the ubiquitous
logo of Walt Disney Pictures. But if Disney had known
the real story of Neusch von Stein and its fairy
tale king, an eccentric opera fan who was declared a
(00:46):
mad man before dying under mysterious circumstances, he might have
chosen a different castle. Neusch von Stein Castle is one
of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe, welcoming more
than six thousand visitors on busy day das in the summer.
But the man who dreamed up the fantastical castle never
intended for it to be open to the public. It
(01:07):
began as an architectural love letter to the German composer
Richard Wagner and evolved into a refuge for a reclusive
king who slowly lost his grip on reality. King Ludwig
the Second never fit the mold of a stoic monarch.
Born in eighteen forty five, he was raised in princely
elegance in his father, Maximilian the Seconds castle Hohenschwangau, where
(01:29):
the young royal quote enjoyed dressing up and took pleasure
in play acting. According to his mother Marie of Prussia,
from an early age, Ludwig had a vivid imagination and
a flair for the dramatic owen Schwangau, built in eighteen
thirty two in the Gothic style, was decorated with paintings
drawn from medieval German legends and poetry, and young Ludwig
(01:51):
particularly identified with Luhang Green, a legendary knight of the
Holy Grail who traveled on a boat pulled by swans.
When Maximilian the Second died suddenly in eighteen sixty four, Ludwig,
then eighteen years old, was thrust into power unprepared for
any serious political leadership. One of the first things Ludwig
did as king was to invite his musical idol Wagner
(02:13):
to come to Munich for an opera festival. Wagner was
also obsessed with German medieval legends and an even written
opera version of the Luhan Green story in eighteen fifty. Wagner,
who was in dire financial straits, eagerly accepted Ludwig's invitation,
and the young king became one of the composer's chief patrons.
When they met, Wagner didn't know what to make of
(02:36):
the other worldly Ludwig, Wagner wrote, today, I was brought
to him. He's unfortunately so beautiful and wise, soulful and
lordly that I fear his life must fade away like
a divine dream. In this base world. You cannot imagine
the magic of his regard. If he remains alive, it
will be a great miracle. Wagner couldn't have predicted it,
(02:58):
but just two years later, in eighteen six six, Bavaria
and Austria suffered a humiliating defeat to Prussia in the
Seven Weeks War, and Ludwig was stripped of all real power.
It was then historians believe that Ludwig decided to retreat
into a fantasy kingdom in the Alps dedicated to Wagner,
an alternate reality in which he could play out his
(03:18):
operatic daydreams full of Christian nights and magical swans. Ludwig
already had the perfect location picked out, a rocky promontory
near his childhood castle with three hundred and sixty degree
views of pristine alpine lakes, lush valleys, and towering peaks.
He wrote a letter to Wagner describing his plans to
build a far more ambitious version of his father's Hoenschwangau. Quote,
(03:43):
the location is one of the most beautiful to be found,
wholly and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend
who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.
To bring his vision to life, Ludwig enlisted a theatrical
set designer and scene painter from Munich named Christian Young
make some appropriately dramatic drawings of the new hohen Schwangau.
(04:03):
As Ludwig called it, it was meant to be an
idealized version of a medieval castle, inspired by a visit
to the legitimately medieval vartboard palace, but cranked up to
an eleven. Ludwig wanted two hundred well appointed rooms, a
cavernous singers hall for opera performances or nate walled gardens,
and even a night's bath akin to the ritual baths
(04:25):
used by the Knights of the Holy Grail, But rather
than being a complete throwback, the castle was to include
the latest technological comforts, including electric lighting, flush toilets, central heating,
and an electric buzzer system for summoning servants. The first
stone of Ludvig's dreamcastle was laid in eighteen sixty nine.
He had written to Wagner that he hoped to move
(04:46):
in in three years, but construction was still ongoing when
Ludwig finally moved into the first completed section fifteen years later.
By that point, the scale of the castle had been
paired down significantly, and the project had taken on a
distinct the kiotic feel. Ludvig, a deeply pious Christian, had
begun to identify himself more and more with the Arthurian
(05:07):
hero Parceval. Another Night in the Quest of the Holy
Grail in the Castle of Space, originally planned as an
audience room for receiving guests was turned into a high
domed throne room without a throne instead, its guilt walls
and murals would serve as a whole of the Holy Grail.
Ludwig grew increasingly reclusive. He slept during the day and
(05:29):
wandered the castle at night, had hire musicians and actors
for private concerts and operas, and during the various snowy winters,
journey out for night time sleigh rides in an elaborate
custom made sleigh, sometimes in medieval costume. By the still
unfinished castle had gone wildly over budget, and Ludwig had
(05:50):
tried the patience of his foreign creditors. When he couldn't
repay his debts, the foreign banks seized the property and
threatened to bankrupt the state of Bavaria. Ludwig's ministers, largely
to protect state assets, accused the king of insanity and
removed him from the throne. Ludwig had clearly shown some
borderline delusional behavior, and his obsession with building his new
(06:11):
ho and Schwangau A plus four other lavish personal palaces
and homes was all consuming. Now. Whether or not he
had any mental disorder that would be diagnosable by today's standards,
is still debated. Ludwig's ultimate fate is also shrouded in mystery.
Days after Ludwig was deemed insane by the state appointed
psychiatrist and locked up in a drab castle, he was
(06:33):
found dead, apparently drowned in waist deep water. Ludwig's death
at only forty years old would have been ruled a
suicide if not for one gruesome detail. His psychiatrist was
floating dead next to him. No one knows exactly what happened.
The castle was renamed Neich von Stein, a German for
new Swanstone after Ludwig's death, as a homage to the
(06:56):
tragic and eccentric figure known as the fairy tale King. Ironically,
the debt ridden castle, opened to the public just seven
weeks after Ludwig's death in eighteen eighty six, has paid
for itself many times over thanks to the one point
four million tourists who visit every year. Today's episode was
(07:17):
written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain
Stuff is production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For
more on this and lots of other mythic topics, visit
our home Planet, how Stuff works dot com and for
more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey, brain Stuff,
Lauren Bogelbam. Here you can thank a mad Bavarian king
for the opening credits to every Disney movie. Before Walt
Disney built Disneyland, he and his wife Lillian toward Europe,
including a stop at the magnificent Neusch von Stein Castle
(00:22):
in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Disney was so impressed
with the skyscraping, turrets and towers of this faux Romanesque
structure that he used it as the model for Sleeping
Beauty's Castle, the centerpiece of Disneyland and now the ubiquitous
logo of Walt Disney Pictures. But if Disney had known
the real story of Neusch von Stein and its fairy
tale king, an eccentric opera fan who was declared a
(00:46):
mad man before dying under mysterious circumstances, he might have
chosen a different castle. Neusch von Stein Castle is one
of the most visited tourist destinations in Europe, welcoming more
than six thousand visitors on busy day das in the summer.
But the man who dreamed up the fantastical castle never
intended for it to be open to the public. It
(01:07):
began as an architectural love letter to the German composer
Richard Wagner and evolved into a refuge for a reclusive
king who slowly lost his grip on reality. King Ludwig
the Second never fit the mold of a stoic monarch.
Born in eighteen forty five, he was raised in princely
elegance in his father, Maximilian the Seconds castle Hohenschwangau, where
(01:29):
the young royal quote enjoyed dressing up and took pleasure
in play acting. According to his mother Marie of Prussia,
from an early age, Ludwig had a vivid imagination and
a flair for the dramatic owen Schwangau, built in eighteen
thirty two in the Gothic style, was decorated with paintings
drawn from medieval German legends and poetry, and young Ludwig
(01:51):
particularly identified with Luhang Green, a legendary knight of the
Holy Grail who traveled on a boat pulled by swans.
When Maximilian the Second died suddenly in eighteen sixty four, Ludwig,
then eighteen years old, was thrust into power unprepared for
any serious political leadership. One of the first things Ludwig
did as king was to invite his musical idol Wagner
(02:13):
to come to Munich for an opera festival. Wagner was
also obsessed with German medieval legends and an even written
opera version of the Luhan Green story in eighteen fifty. Wagner,
who was in dire financial straits, eagerly accepted Ludwig's invitation,
and the young king became one of the composer's chief patrons.
When they met, Wagner didn't know what to make of
(02:36):
the other worldly Ludwig, Wagner wrote, today, I was brought
to him. He's unfortunately so beautiful and wise, soulful and
lordly that I fear his life must fade away like
a divine dream. In this base world. You cannot imagine
the magic of his regard. If he remains alive, it
will be a great miracle. Wagner couldn't have predicted it,
(02:58):
but just two years later, in eighteen six six, Bavaria
and Austria suffered a humiliating defeat to Prussia in the
Seven Weeks War, and Ludwig was stripped of all real power.
It was then historians believe that Ludwig decided to retreat
into a fantasy kingdom in the Alps dedicated to Wagner,
an alternate reality in which he could play out his
(03:18):
operatic daydreams full of Christian nights and magical swans. Ludwig
already had the perfect location picked out, a rocky promontory
near his childhood castle with three hundred and sixty degree
views of pristine alpine lakes, lush valleys, and towering peaks.
He wrote a letter to Wagner describing his plans to
build a far more ambitious version of his father's Hoenschwangau. Quote,
(03:43):
the location is one of the most beautiful to be found,
wholly and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend
who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.
To bring his vision to life, Ludwig enlisted a theatrical
set designer and scene painter from Munich named Christian Young
make some appropriately dramatic drawings of the new hohen Schwangau.
(04:03):
As Ludwig called it, it was meant to be an
idealized version of a medieval castle, inspired by a visit
to the legitimately medieval vartboard palace, but cranked up to
an eleven. Ludwig wanted two hundred well appointed rooms, a
cavernous singers hall for opera performances or nate walled gardens,
and even a night's bath akin to the ritual baths
(04:25):
used by the Knights of the Holy Grail, But rather
than being a complete throwback, the castle was to include
the latest technological comforts, including electric lighting, flush toilets, central heating,
and an electric buzzer system for summoning servants. The first
stone of Ludvig's dreamcastle was laid in eighteen sixty nine.
He had written to Wagner that he hoped to move
(04:46):
in in three years, but construction was still ongoing when
Ludwig finally moved into the first completed section fifteen years later.
By that point, the scale of the castle had been
paired down significantly, and the project had taken on a
distinct the kiotic feel. Ludvig, a deeply pious Christian, had
begun to identify himself more and more with the Arthurian
(05:07):
hero Parceval. Another Night in the Quest of the Holy
Grail in the Castle of Space, originally planned as an
audience room for receiving guests was turned into a high
domed throne room without a throne instead, its guilt walls
and murals would serve as a whole of the Holy Grail.
Ludwig grew increasingly reclusive. He slept during the day and
(05:29):
wandered the castle at night, had hire musicians and actors
for private concerts and operas, and during the various snowy winters,
journey out for night time sleigh rides in an elaborate
custom made sleigh, sometimes in medieval costume. By the still
unfinished castle had gone wildly over budget, and Ludwig had
(05:50):
tried the patience of his foreign creditors. When he couldn't
repay his debts, the foreign banks seized the property and
threatened to bankrupt the state of Bavaria. Ludwig's ministers, largely
to protect state assets, accused the king of insanity and
removed him from the throne. Ludwig had clearly shown some
borderline delusional behavior, and his obsession with building his new
(06:11):
ho and Schwangau A plus four other lavish personal palaces
and homes was all consuming. Now. Whether or not he
had any mental disorder that would be diagnosable by today's standards,
is still debated. Ludwig's ultimate fate is also shrouded in mystery.
Days after Ludwig was deemed insane by the state appointed
psychiatrist and locked up in a drab castle, he was
(06:33):
found dead, apparently drowned in waist deep water. Ludwig's death
at only forty years old would have been ruled a
suicide if not for one gruesome detail. His psychiatrist was
floating dead next to him. No one knows exactly what happened.
The castle was renamed Neich von Stein, a German for
new Swanstone after Ludwig's death, as a homage to the
(06:56):
tragic and eccentric figure known as the fairy tale King. Ironically,
the debt ridden castle, opened to the public just seven
weeks after Ludwig's death in eighteen eighty six, has paid
for itself many times over thanks to the one point
four million tourists who visit every year. Today's episode was
(07:17):
written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain
Stuff is production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For
more on this and lots of other mythic topics, visit
our home Planet, how Stuff works dot com and for
more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
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