At a time when Prussia was unifying Germany, the Bavarian King Ludwig II Wittelsbach stepped away from politics and funded fabulous castles. Linderhof Palace was to be a ‘little Versailles’, emulating the mastery of French Baroque architecture. In addition to its picturesque mountain location and opulent façade, the palace impresses with the ingenuity and richness of its park. Exotic cottages, pavilions and an artificial grotto are a demonstration of the wealth of the ruler, who paid for the extravagant palace out of his own pocket. Unfortunately, his extravagance caused political conflicts for which Louis paid with his life. Interestingly, the king’s other famous investment was the equally fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle.
Escape to riches
At the beginning of his reign, the young Ludwig II at least partially tried to participate in Bavarian politics. It soon became apparent, however, that the king disliked public appearances and banquets and was happiest spending his time in seclusion. Ludwig was fascinated by art, opera and palace architecture. On one trip to France, he became enthralled by picturesque palaces and castles such as those at Versailles and Pierrefonds.
From the late 1860s onwards, the king began to isolate himself more and more from the politics of the country, and his state was losing ground in the process of German unification. As Otto von Bismarck unified the Second German Reich, King Ludwig II lamented the lost independence of his state. Admittedly, Bavaria was guaranteed autonomy and an army, but Berlin was in charge of national affairs. It was when Bavaria’s politics were not going in the right direction that the King invested huge sums in building new castles dripping with gold.
Olympus on the wall
In 1874, court architect Georg von Dollmann began rebuilding a small royal estate in the south of the country. Interestingly, it was Ludwig who sketched out ideas for his ‘little Versailles’ back in 1868, with the design changing every year. The king even considered a huge palace complex reminiscent of a Byzantine estate. In the end, it fell to a neo-Rococo opulence with an immense amount of sculpture and decoration. Interestingly, the name Linderhof comes from a nearby linden tree that grew on the site for 300 years.
The risalit of the palace is divided into three segments. From below, carved brackets in the form of Atlantes emerge from the rusticated walls, with a balcony above their heads. Gold railings display royal symbols. Looking further down, there is an intriguing accumulation of different sculptures from winged angels and Greek goddesses to the ubiquitous putti. The sculptures are found in niches, on columns and, above all, inside the carved pediment. Interestingly, the angels in the tympanum surround the coat of arms of the Wittelsbachs, the rulers of Bavaria.
At the top of the building is a sculpture depicting Atlas carrying the globe on his back to symbolise the weight and enormity of power. Of course, the sculptures listed are not coincidental and each symbolises different areas of power such as the economy, agriculture or science. In addition, the putti are symbols of music, architecture and poetry. In contrast, the woman standing in the middle of the façade is the Roman Victoria, goddess of victory.
Bavarian Versailles
The ubiquitous gold oozes from the interior. The hall of mirrors is a display of the king’s extravagance. Dollmann designed a room whose walls are lined with gold ornaments to such an extent that the hall appears to be made of solid gold. In addition, the mirrors make the room seem endless. The other rooms do not have a specific theme, and it is more noticeable the accumulation of symbolic, rich decorations. The ceilings are decorated with frescoes depicting erotic scenes and motifs of royalty. References to Versailles and Louis XIV, the idol of the Bavarian king, are noticeable in many places. Louis II referred to himself as the ‘King of the Moon’, a reference to the French ‘Sun King’.
The decor is not only gold, but also other riches. The furniture tops are made of lapis-lazuli and malachite. Ostrich feathers adorn the carpets and the canopy over the royal bed. And, of course, there were also the crystal chandeliers, the arms of which are made of ivory. Such ornamental treatments could be listed endlessly, but the palace also boasts some rather innovative solutions. In the dining room, the king ate alone and the servants did not have to bring the next course, thanks to a mechanism that lowered part of the table into the kitchen located below the dining room. The king often imagined Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV sitting next to him.
Romantic cave
Although the expensive interiors of the palace, delight, the most interesting element of Louis II’s estate is the picturesque park with its numerous pavilions and cottages. French gardens are mixed with the exoticism of English parks. The Moorish House evokes African, Arabian and Indian riches, which is particularly reflected in its interior. Under the golden dome is a colourful room reminiscent of the palaces of the Muslim rulers of India. At the back, a throne is set up with figures of peacocks whose feathers shimmer in dozens of colours. Peacock feathers are the main motif of the décor.
In contrast, the Moroccan House has a much more modest façade, but its interior compensates for the severity of the façade. Inside, Arabic art reigns supreme, including mukarnas, repeated arabesques and Arabic inscriptions. Interestingly, both exotic buildings were purchased from designers from world exhibitions.
The hilltop pavilions and temples are also intriguing. The small temple of Venus is a classic piece of park architecture, while the music pavilion refers to Louis II’s greatest passion. The king was the patron saint of Richard Wagner, the music master of Romanticism. Many of the buildings in the park relate to the themes of the composer’s operas. Wooden mountain huts and the Venus Grotto are the locations of specific operatic acts.
The most interesting and at the same time the most expensive building of the whole project is the aforementioned grotto. The artificially built cave consists of a metal skeleton, which is lined with canvas and covered with cement. The paintings on the walls depict scenes from Wagner’s opera ‘Tannhäuser’. A lake has been created in the grotto, where it is possible to swim on a barge that resembles a sea shell. The room is not only beautiful, but also very high-tech. The King insisted that the red and blue lighting in the grotto be electric, which required the construction of one of the first power plants in Bavaria. Such lighting was also installed in the Moroccan House. What’s more, the grotto was equipped with a wave-making machine so that the king, floating in a barge, floated on the rough lake.
Beauty at the price of life
The extravagant lifestyle did not please the Bavarian politicians, who regarded the king as a disastrous ruler. Through a conspiracy, the politicians succeeded in persuading a psychiatrist to give a negative assessment of Ludwig’s mental health. The attempt to remove him from power ended with the king’s death in Lake Starnberg. The circumstances of his death are unclear, as on one occasion the king went for a walk with the psychiatrist, and after some time their bodies were found in the shallow water. To this day, it is also unclear whether ‘Ludwig the Mad’ was actually schizophrenic or paranoid, although it is certain that the psychiatrist wanted to put the ruler in a psychiatric hospital. Louis II survived for just 41 years.
Bavarian Versailles was supposed to be more modest in size than the famous Neuschwanstein Castle or Herrenchiemsee Palace. Linderhof made up for its smaller size with its opulence and creativity. It was also the only castle the king completed during his lifetime, which of course made it Ludwig’s favourite residence. The stunning gold interiors and operatic grotto are the perfect tribute to a distant era, even for the King of Bavaria. All these factors make Linderhof one of the most beautiful palaces in the world.
Source: Grainau
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