Hey guys it's Mike Chen, good to see you again!
It's been a while, I know, I'm sorry.
I've just been travelling around the world, eating, getting food poisoned, a lot of stuff
happened.
but anyway, I'm back and it's good to be back.
We're gonna start off with this video, I've mentioned before that I love castles, I love
cathedrals, basically any structure with a lot of history...and mystery.
And this castle that I'm talking about today has been on the top of my castle visitation
bucket list (yeah I got one of those).
I'm talking about the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
I've always been fascinated by this castle because it literally looks like something
out of a fairy tale.
I mean this thing is just gorgeous.
Situated way up on the snow-dusted peaks of southern Germany.
And I would say it's one of the most picturesque and definitely one of the most visited castles
in the world.
The castle is situated on a rugged hill overlooking the Bavarian village of Hohenschwangau.
Neuschwanstein Castle, which roughly translates to "New Swanstone Castle" in English, is a
19th Century Romanesque Revival palace that was built for King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who
himself was also known as the fairy tale king.
Which is probably why the castle looks like...well, that.
It is believed that the palace was originally built to allow the fairy tale king to withdraw
from public life in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian war, having lost his power.
And if you're thinking, it's just a castle made for a king, it looks like a place Cinderella
sleeps in, what's the big deal?
Well, there is something really interesting about this castle.
Now construction of Neuschwanstein Castle began in 1869 upon a foundation of castle
ruins atop a hill offering up an idyllic view of the surrounding Bavarian landscape.
Inside, the castle became known for its emotive depictions of repentance and salvation in
the form of decorations showing knights and kings adorning several of the interior walls.
It would also take more than a decade before workers had completed enough of the castle
for King Ludwig II to move in.
The design of the castle was a collaboration between architects and theatrical designers
and artisans, with the fairy tale king being known to take inspiration from King Louis
XIV of France and the Palace of Versailles.
However, despite being such a large and lavish construction and originally having plans for
200 rooms, the castle was only ever home to King Ludwig II, and not for particularly long
either.
In 1886, King Ludwig II was dethroned after being declared insane by a team of experts
led by psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden.
Their reasoning was largely based upon the King's eccentricities and erratic behaviour,
such as building lavish castles that would often leave him significantly in debt and
choosing to eat outside regardless of the weather.
It is also now known, based on diary entries and other sources, that King Ludwig II was
a homosexual, which at the time was seen by many as a deviation from "normal evolution."
This was enough for Von Gudden's team to decree that the king was no longer capable of ruling
and, two days after this on the 12th of June 1886, he was seized and brought to Castle
Berg, located on the eastern shore of Lake Starnberg.
It was here the fairy tale king would spend his final hours.
At 6pm on the 13th of June, King Ludwig II requested permission to go off for a walk
around the lake and it was decided that Bernhard Von Gudden would be the one to accompany him.
This was the last time that either of the two men would be seen alive.
Several hours later, the two men's bodies were retrieved from the lake.
Von Gudden's body showed signs of being attacked while there was also reportedly evidence to
suggest he had been both hit on the head with something and then eventually strangled.
Officially, King Ludwig II's death was recorded as drowning, however, it has since been discovered
that no water was found in the King's lungs and it was also known that he was a strong
swimmer.
The mystery of King Ludwig II's death has since sparked wild debate and various conspiracies
have emerged regarding it.
In more recent years, investigations into the death of the fairy tale king have indeed
added weight to the theory that there was a more insidious motive behind his death.
Evidence unearthed by investigatory teams has shown that the diagnosis of Von Gudden's
team of experts was "incorrect in both form and substance."
For a start, Von Gudden never met the King during his assessment, they had only previously
met 12 years before.
Objective evidence was also not sought, and only biased opinions of the king were admitted
as evidence.
In fact, it has also been claimed that evidence written by secretary that could have shown
that the king was actually capable of ruling was ignored.
This does suggest that Von Gudden could very well have been biased against the King and
there are even theories that propose he was recruited by embarrassed family members looking
to gain power in order to discredit and remove the king.
So, what do you think?
Is there something more to mystery of King Ludwig II's death?
Or is this just another case of tragedy being shaped into something else?
Whatever the truth is, Neuschwanstein Castle remains one of the most enchanting and magical
landscapes that exist.
It is also but one example of the fairy tale king's extensive and impressive collection
of castles.
I mean, this guy collected castles like most people collect cards.
Other castles built by the fairy tale king include Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee.
But here's the thing, let me ask you guys - if you were super rich, if you were one
of the richest people in the world, would you build a castle for yourself - a two hundred
room castle for yourself?
I guess maybe it could be interesting sleeping in a different room every single night for
almost a whole year.
Personally, I don't think I could do this because I live in a small house right now
and I still imagine people sneaking in and sleeping in my basement.
So, I think having that many rooms would actually drive me insane.
But anyway, hopefully one day I'll get to visit this castle because, you know, I did
see the ones at Disney, which were inspired by this castle, so it would be really coole
to see the real thing at some point.
Alright guys, thank you all so much for watching, I'll see you later.