Neuschwanstein Castle

 

Neuschwanstein Castle was started in 1869 and designed by Christian Jank, a theater set painter.

The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. In an 1868 letter to Wagner (the German composer Richard Wagner), he described the castle as “a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.”

The tragic part is that the castle cost 6.2 million gold marks (about $300 million in today’s gold value), almost twice what was planned, and King Ludwig’s debts reached 14 million marks (about $670 million).

In the end, in June 1886, King Ludwig was declared insane and arrested in his bedroom at Neuschwanstein. The next day, he was found dead in Lake Starnberg along with his doctor.

Even today, no one fully knows why they died.