The Pulaskian., 1919-11-28

Il negotiating with the ex-king,
Ludwig III, now living as an
exile in Switzerland, for legal settle
ment on the state of his landed prop
erty in Bavaria. If this is so, it doubt
less involves the most gorgeous trio
OF palaces built by any European mon
arch in modern times. These struc-
lures, says the New York Times, were
well known to tourists before the war;
In fact, so large and sumptuous are
they, so hopelessly beyond the modest
needs of the Bavarian royal family
did they prove, that for long time
their only use was to provide a little
revenue through the fees charged to
the thousands of visitors who passed
yearly through their spacious halls.
The palaces in question are Neu-
schwanstein, Linderhof and Herren-
chiemsee all three built by the "mad
king" Ludwig II of Bavaria, who
reigned from 1864 to his tragic death
in 1886, and cost Bavaria such huge
sums by his extravaganza that he was
finally deposed and locked up as In
curably insane.
During the time that Ludwig was
pouring out his own and the states
funds in rebuilding old castles and
building the new ones that were to
make his name synonym for extrav-
agance he was bound in intimate
friendship with Richard Wagner, the
famous composer. The signs of this
friendship may be seen In one of the
castles, Neuschwanstein, where there
are many paintings of scenes from the
legends upon which Wagner based his
world-famous operas.
Neuschwanstein Most Remarkable.
OF the three great palaces which
may revert to the Bavarian state as a
result of the negotiations between the
exiled Bavarian king and the govern
ment which overthrow him, the most
remarkable, both in location and archi-
lecture, is Neuschwanstein. 1t is about
eighty-fve miles south of Munich, in
the Bavarian highlands, three miles
from the quaint old town of Fussen,
and close to the old castle of Hohen-
sehwangau, which originally belonged
to the house of Guelph and was pur-
chased in 1867 by the dukes of Bava-
ria. Hohenschwanga was the favor
lite residence of the mad King Ludwig,
but, firing of staying long in one place,
he conceived the idea of building an
other castle-palace, in the manner of
the kings Of the middle ages. His eye
fell upon PERCEPTIONS crag close to
Hohenschwangau, and there, between
1869 and 1886, arose the splendid pal
ace which ranks as the greatest of all
the many monuments to Ludwig's
building mania. It's name, Neusch-
wanstein, is due to the fact that the
nearby castle of Hohenschwangau was
formerly called Schwanstein.
Ludwig set three of the best-known
Bavarian architects-Dollman, Riedel
and Hoffman-to work on this creation
Of his wild fancy, and they reared for
him a grand structure in the Roman
esque style, planned somewhat after
the style of the Wartburg. Here the
influence of Wagner on the king may
be traced. for the Wartburg, in Thur
ingia, is where Tannhauser and other
singers meet, In the Wagnerian opera
of that name, to compete for the land
graves prize.
Neuschwanstein, however, was built
On a much larger and more magnifi-
cent scale than the Wartburg. 1t is
splendidly fitted up throughout, and
from its windows there are surprising
~ beautiful views of the Hohen-
schwangau, the Alp-See, a little lake
| far below, and the wild gorge of the
Pollat.
Visitors ascend to the showrooms,
which are on the third floor, by means
| of stairway in the main tower, which
| juts up to a height Of nearly 200 feet