OCR Text |
Show Cattle of Neuschwaneteln. N i:VS comes from Havarlu thut I the new government there Is negotiating with the ex king. Liidwlg HI, now living as an exile In Switzerland, for a legal settlement settle-ment on the state of his landed DMf erty In Himirln. If this Is so. It doubt less Involves the most gorgeous trio of palaces built by any lOuropean monarch mon-arch in modern times. These structures, struc-tures, says the New York Times, were well known to tourists before the wur; in fact, so large und sumptuous are they, so hopelessly beyond the modest needs of the Bavarian royal family did they prove, that for a long time their only use whs to provide a little revenue through the fees charged to the thousands of visitors who passed yeurly through their spacious hulls. The puluces In question ure Neu-schwunsleln, Neu-schwunsleln, Llnderhof und Ilerren-chlemsee, Ilerren-chlemsee, all three built by the "mud king." Ludwlg II of Havarlu, who reigned from 1H(1I to his tragic death In 1KH0, and cost Bavaria such huge sums by his extravagance that he was finally deposed and locked up as In curably insane. During the time that Ludwlg was pouring out his own and the state's funds in rebuilding old castles und I building the new ones that were to muke his name a Nvnonyiu for extravagance extrav-agance he was hound in intimate I friendship with Illchard Wagner, the fatuous composer. The signs of this friendship may he MOO. Ill one of the laslles, NcuMhwalistein, where there are many paintings of scenes from the legends upon which Wagner based his i world famous operas. Neuschwaneteln Most Remarkable. Of the three great palaces which I muy revert to the Hnvnrlan state us a result of the negotiations between the exiled Bavarian king and the government govern-ment which overthrew hlm, the most remarkable, both In locution and architecture. archi-tecture. Is Neusiliw a ostein It Is about eighty-five miles south of Munich, In the Bavarian highlands, three miles from the quaint old town of Fussi n nnd close to the old eustle of Hoheu schwaugau, which originally belonged to the house of Cuelph and was purchased pur-chased In ir17 by tin1 dukes of Havu rln. Hoheiisi hwaugiiu was the favorite favor-ite residence of the mad King Ludwlg. but, tiring of staying long in one place, he conceived the Idea of building another an-other castle palace, in the manlier of the kings of the middle ages. His eye fell upon u precipitous crag close to Hohctischwatiguu. and there, between IMi'.i and 1888) arose the splendid pal ace which ranks as the great, si of all the many monuments to Ludulg's build ng mania Its name, Nctisch-wansteln, Nctisch-wansteln, is due to the fact that the near by COStla of liohcuschw anguu was formerly called Si hw ansteln. Ludwlg set three of the best known Bavarian architects Dnllman, lilt-del ami Hoffman to work on this creation of his wild fancy, and they reared for him a grand structure In the Koinan-i Koinan-i i squc style, planned somewhat after i the style of the Warthurg Here the j Influence of tVncnor on the king ntaj be trined. for the Warthurg, In Thur-Ingiii. Thur-Ingiii. is where Tiinnhiiuser and other singers meet. In the Wagnerian opera of that name, to compete for the bind '. grave's prize. Neuschwunsteln, however, was built j on a much larger and more magnificent magnifi-cent scale than the Warthurg. It Is splendidly fitted up throughout, and from Its windows there ar surpassing ly beautiful lews of the Hohen-sclnwtngnu, Hohen-sclnwtngnu, the Alp See, n little lake fur below, uud the wild gorge of the I'oilat. Visitors ascend to the showrooms, which are on the third lloor, by menus of a stairway In the main tower, which juts up to a height of nearly -iHi feet. The Wagnerian leanings, which were H so Important a part of King Lildwlg's H life, are evidenced again by a series of H frescoes, showing scenes from the life H of Siegfried, Tuiiiihueuser, Lohengrin H and I'urslfiil, and from the lives of those two familiur figures in the "Mela- H tersinger," Huns Sin lis and Waiter H von der Vngelwelde, which adorn thfl H magnificent apartments of the third H floor. In the gothlc bed chamber. Wag- M tier iigaln comes to the fore, for It la H adorned with scenes from the story U of "Tristan and Isolde." H Product of Wild Extravagance H Llnderhof, another of I. mi wig's fnn- M tastlc puluces. Is some seventy miles H from Munich. Like Neuschwunsteln, It M also is in the Bavarian highlands, sev- M en miles from the famous town of M (iherammergau, renowned nil over the M world for lis "Passion Piny." Llnder- -.1 Jinf Is In the rococo style, aud was H built between 1880 nnd 1S7!I, when I Ludwlg was nt the height of his wild M career of money spending. Its princl- M pal feature Is the beautiful gardens H that surround It, which attract large H numbers of tourists, who combine a H trip to the castle with a visit to Ober- M ammerguti. M In these gardens Is a bronze eques- H Ulan statue of Louis XIV of France, H evidence of the mad Bavarian mon- H arch's hallucination that there was something in common between him und M the great I'Ycnch tuler. This crops up H again In the decorations of the Interior M of the palace which Include u series H of portraits of French eelelutlcs of H the time of Louis XIV and h's sue- B tensor, Louis XV. Ludwlg did not for- H gt ; a statue of himself, which Is one of the adornments of the gardens of Llnderhof. Another object of interest Is an artificial grotto, with a small H lake and waterfall, which visitors may H have Illuminated with electric light. provided, however, that they number H at least ten; or, If fewer, pay for as H many as ten tickets a good Instance H of the frugality which ruled in Bavaria H following Ludwlg IPs career of er- H tnmigancc. H Llnderhof's gardens also boast a H kiosk, In the Moorish style, with sta- H lastie vaultings H An Imitation of Versa lies. Tho third of the series of Ludwlg H IPs "follies" Is llerrenchlemsee, an Im- H Itatlon of the great palace of Versailles, H Situated on an island in the Chlemsee, H u small lake liftv seven miles southeast of Munich. I 'oilman and Hoffman, two of the architects who hullt N.uschwun- H stein (the former also did Llnderhof), were engaged by Ludwlg to design llerrem lib usee. They worked on It between 1H7S and ISN.1, but left It un completed, as by that time the Hava-rlans Hava-rlans hud had enough of the king's wild ways aud were getting ready to lock hlm up. Ilerranchlemsee Is built on three sides of a square, in wh'.ch are tine fountains without water, though, for many years. In the vestibule Is a beautiful group of enameled peacocks these birds were great favorites with Ludwlg. From the vestibule opens a court paved with marble, on the right of whbh Is a staircase aplend illy adorned with marble, stucco and p.iint-, p.iint-, l g s The mad king never reallv enjoyed any of bis palaces. Ills maliidv gicu upon hlm from vear to vear. and he spent much of his time rsstleaatl wandering wan-dering from one palace lo aii'.ilier ill dulglng In wild night rides without definite aim. cruvlng solitude. As SOrl) as IS.SO. sixteen car after ids secession to the throns i.udwig's extravagance hud luoiight financial ruin upon him, and it beCAtUS apparent 3j that Miliiethillg had to be done to cheek ilia follies. On the 8th of June 1888) lie wua udjudgi d Insane. M |