Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-08-04

Bavaria Has a Job Lot She Would Like
to Dispose OF.


The Bavarian government has recently
signifed its willingness to part with
some of the palaces and castles erected
by the unfortunate Ludwig H., and thus
has directed public attention, in a more
emphatic manner than for some time, to
the vagaries of that singular monarch.
The thrifty Bavarians, in spite of the ma
tional income derived from taxing the
800 breweries within the limits Of the
kingdom, find themselves a little short OF
funds. Ludwig, or Louis, for short, was
probably the most eXtravagant monarch,
considering the size of his dominions,
that ever sat on throne, and before the
burghers of Munich could stop his eX-
travagance by deposing him he had put
the kingdom III financial condition from
which it has not yet recovered. AT the
close of 1895 the public debt of Bavaria
was 1855, S15 ,020 marks, and although
a portion of this was incurred by the
construction of railways, no small
amount of this huge Indebtedness was
due to the expenditures Of the late hlng,
Louis H.. who was deposed June ~
1886. The debt incurred by his lavish
ness is the cause of the desire ON the
part of the BaYarianS to get rid OF ms
palaces, but the government has not yet
found buyer, for in spite OF the tact
that it is willing to make a large reduc-
ton from the original cost of the struc-
lures the price is still above the means
of any but Croesus, while the income
of an emperor would be required to keep
up these splendid buildings.
Louis II. assembled the throne on the
death of his father, quiet, easy.-going
monarch, in 1864, and at once he let
it be understood that he wanted house
fit for q king to live in. and that the
palaces that suited his father were by
no means. to his taste. He made pro
oco14 10 ~ o oft Of piah 10 wit h.
in its limits the grandest palace in Eu-
rope if the burghers would bear por-
ton of the cost. but they objected, and
in a pet the King determined not to
economic and repair the royal palace
at Munich, but to build elsewhere. Then
palace succeeded palace, castle followed
castle, each erected in some out-of-the-
way place, often difficult of access, and
removed as far as possible from rail ana
river. A number of structures begun
been abandoned when he was deposed
and allowed to fall into decay. Louis
II. did not forget a single one; many of
them he completed on a scale which sur
passed even the original plans. The
King had a natural taste for architec-
ture, and when a boy had learned the
trade of stone mason, and his aim was
to erect palaces that should be the mod
ern architectural wonders of the world.
In pursuance of this idea he appropriated
all his private fortune, then the crown
revenues of the state, and when these
were exhausted he borrowed right and
left of anyone who would lend upon any
security, and with the sums thus raised
continued his buildings. Possibly it was
also his object to leave behind him last
ing monuments to his memory; if so, he
was entirely successful, for so long as
the luxurious palaces remain standing
the people will ever link them with the
name of their builder, though, as men
toned before, the Bavarian government
would not be averse to disposing of
few Of the said monuments for cash if
buyers could be found.-London Mail.