From 1872–77 not a single opera was performed privately; but in 1878 he heard Verdi’s Aïda, with Wagner’s Siegfrid-idyl as the introduction. In 1879 he caused Der Ring des Niebelungen to be performed four times in succession. In 1880 he heard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, and Verdi’s Aïda. In 1881 Gluck’s Iphegenie auf Tauris, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, and Weber’s Oberon. In 1882 Gluck’s Armida, Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Lohengrin, and Meyerbeer’s Huguenots. In 1883 Der Ring des Niebelungen, Der Fliegende Holländer. In 1884 Tristan und Isolde, and six times Parsifal. Besides this were given at his command Die Stumme von Portici, by Auber, and again Gluck’s Armida. In 1885, in the month of April, he heard Parsifal three times. Of plays he saw this year Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell, Sardou’s Theodora, Brachvogel’s Narcisz, and several pieces by Carl von Heigel, a gifted Bavarian writer who for a number of years wrote and adapted dramatic works for the King’s private performances. [↑]
CHAPTER XXIX
King Ludwig and his Palaces
Ludwig I. sacrificed millions of guldens in order to beautify his capital with structures in the antique and Renaissance styles.
Ludwig II. inherited his grandfather’s love of building. Writing to his son, King Otto of Greece, at Christmas 1852, Ludwig I. says: “When the Christmas presents were distributed, Ludwig was given some wooden bricks with which to construct a triumphal arch. I saw buildings by him which were excellent. I find a striking likeness between the future Ludwig II. and the politically defunct Ludwig I.!” He was at that time only seven years of age. At eleven he drew the plan of a hunting-box, which was to be built at Hintersee, in the vicinity of Berchtesgaden. The lodge was not built; but both his grandfather and Queen Maria were astonished at his early-developed gift. This drawing was given a place in his mother’s album.
Until he had completed his eighteenth year Ludwig had never any money in his hands: a few months after his eighteenth birthday he became the possessor of a yearly income of many millions of guldens. His riches appeared inexhaustible to him, and he thought it an easy matter to realise all his dreams.
The summer mansions of Berg and Herzogenstand which he had inherited from his father, even his favourite place of residence, Hohenschwangau, no longer satisfied him. It was his intention to build a new castle in the neighbourhood of the latter, high up on a rocky site. The foundation-stone of Neuschwanstein was laid in 1869. Of the various castles built by Ludwig this is the one which is the most satisfactory in the impression it affords. From whatever side the spectator sees it, the effect is beautiful and imposing. There is no trace in it of the insane lavishness, and, on the whole, of the inartistic conception which is strikingly evident in the palaces of Linderhof and Chiemsee.
Neuschwanstein is in pure Romanesque style. The interior is decorated with pictures from German hero legends and songs. They represent the Tannhäuser and Lohengrin legends, the Niebelungenlied and Parsifal, and are conceived and executed in an artistic spirit. After the conclusion of the Franco-German war, building became the thought in Ludwig’s mind round which all others revolved. He occupied himself with the smallest details in the construction of his castles, and gave exact descriptions as to how the different apartments were to be decorated. He procured, with much trouble from foreign countries, copies of objects of art which were inaccessible to others. King Maximilian had a hunting-box in the vicinity of Ober-Ammergau; here his son built the fantastic fairy château of Linderhof, himself drawing the plans and carefully studying works on the various styles of architecture. During the building he continually had new ideas, and was seized with a desire to change parts of the building. Despite his sure eye for general effects, he had no idea as to the manner in which the building should be executed. In order to ascertain how the mansion would look when complete, he caused walls to be built and resorted to other radical expedients, which necessitated a considerable increase of expenditure and eventually led to his financial ruin. The foundation-stone of Linderhof was laid in 1869. It was not till ten years later that it approached completion. The mansion is not large, nor does it give the impression of being in any particular style. It contains ten reception-rooms of different sizes and shapes, in which there are collected a multitude of objects, oil paintings and pastel drawings. The furniture is partly of rosewood. The richly-carved doors and walls are gilded. On gilded consoles stand Japanese and Chinese porcelain, majolica, and works in bronze, as well as some magnificent old Dresden china. The silver-gilt domestic utensils are studded with precious stones. The material with which the furniture is upholstered, the curtains and portières, are all of heavy velvet and silk with gold embroideries. In the big drawing-rooms the chandeliers and candelabra are of massive gold. This magnificence is reflected by several hundred large mirrors.
The building is surrounded by gardens and terraces. Busts and statues of Greek gods stand on high pillars among the trees in the shrubberies. In Ludwig’s lifetime a fountain threw its jets of water a hundred and fifty feet into the air. Close by Linderhof lies “The Blue Grotto,” a copy of the grotto at Capri, and the “Hunding-Hütte,” which was built at Richard Wagner’s desire. King Maximilian’s hunting-lodge was moved, but an old lime-tree which had stood close by was allowed to retain its place. A stair led up into the branches of the tree where a summer-house had been constructed from which there was a fine view of the surrounding country. When Ludwig was at Linderhof, he spent many hours of his day in this tree.