When a Stan Becomes King | The Life & Times of Ludwig II of Bavaria
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
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One of the questions I get asked a lot is, “If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?” And you know my response has usually been “Oh, I want to see what Nero was really like, I want to learn from Pedro II, I’ll want to invite Aristotle, and give up my seat for Cicero, so they can tiff over who’s more self-righteous”. But I have a new answer now: The king who cared more about worshipping teenage heartthrob Richard Wagner than ruling a kingdom: Ludwig II
Music (in order of first appearance):
Purple Planet - Country Ways
Orchestralis - Royal Pomp and Circumstance
Edvard Grieg - Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
Kevin Macleod - Hidden Past
Audio Zen - Simple and Soft Upbeat Rock
Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"
Richard Wagner - Siegfried Idyll
Tchaikovsky - Valse Sentimentale
Texas Brother - Banjo
Sibelius - The Swan of Tuonela
Franz Liszt - Liebestraum
Paul Abraham Dukas - Sorcerer's Apprentice
AG Soundtrax - The Greatest Heist
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Hi Jack! HUGE fan
I want to lern jamacan
@@leghstanyer1870 jamacan?
please make a video about the Kangxi Emperor please....
please make a video about the Kangxi Emperor soon
Fun Fact: Bismarck bribed Ludwig into offering Wilhelm to be emperor by giving him money to build castles.
I am surprised this did not make it into the video
Based
Even then the vote to join Germany only passed in the Bavarian Parliament by an embarrassing two votes lol.
He gave him OUR MONEY
@@Pausi10_00 Are you from Bavaria?
You should *DEFINITELY* make a video about the " *Captain of Köpenick* ", a random guy in 1906 Köpenick, Prussia, who impersonated a military officer, convinced a few soldiers who were standing around to march around with him, then using them convinced a few more to follow him as well, until he had quite a few, then he marched on the mayor's office and robbed him, pretending to be acting on like the Kaiser's orders, "corruption charges" against the mayor
He got away from the scene after taking the money, but was found later, but Wilhelm II pardoned him because everyone in the country found the whole story super funny
I have never heard this story before, but it's one of the greatest things I've ever heard. It's like the irl version of what would happen if the Coen Brothers and M. Night Shyamalan teamed up to direct Barry Lyndon.
@@caseysilkwood47 There are actually several film adaptions of this story. But since they are all german movies there is probably no dub of it.
@@rakdos36I finally see my duty in life... I must translate these movies
@@rakdos36 That's awesome. All the more reason to continue learning to speak German.
Wilhelm himself laughed when it was found out and decided to just pardon him
Nice touch with the Bavarian flag of a tie. You also forgot to mention how during German unification Bismarck basically paid him a boatload of money in order to accept the Willhelm I as Kaiser
5:00 Anime Ludwig is something I thought I never see
It fits him so well.
He might even have wanted it this way.
I need more characters in this design!
If he was Isekai’d, he’d fall head over heels!
As I was researching this video, I thought "Man, Ludwig would make such the perfect bishonen anime character". And then I discovered there he is literally the main character of a yaoi manga
That's... deeply disturbing, and yet somehow not entirely surprising.
Personally, I really like how Ludwig II is basically the epitome of escapism. He avoids doing his job and greatly prefers to engage in his fantasies to the brink of insanity.
One of the best examples of this, is the fact that he commissioned the construction of an exact replica of King Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles because he admired King Louis that much. IN FACT, he (allegedly) called himself the "Moon King" to mirror King Louis' title of the "Sun King."
There's a lot more about Ludwig II. He's delightfully complex.
I think I had that Moon King line in an earlier draft of the script! I had such a good time reading Christopher McIntosh's biography of him, it's really moving while being just absurdly funny
A TOTAL MYTH! Ludwig actually read and signed 200,000 official documents in his 20 years as King, lots of FAKE NEWS after his death and like today the Newspapers smelled blood and published as the Government told them to!
hey, it fits with his nocturnal habits, at least his branding was on point.
Ludwig II is basically an super nerd who got nearly everything he damned dreamed from
He was maxing out for a cultural victory.
we owe this man all of Germanys hottest tourist attractions so, yeah.
To bad the tourism couldn’t fund it when he was alive 😂
@@deismaccountant It only took about 13 years for the debts to be payed. Today it's owned by the Bavarian state but the remaining members of house Wittelsbach still get a cut from it.
@@Quallenkrauler damn, if only public debtors had a little more patience.
Or if somebody was good enough at distracting Ludwig.
Not even all of Bavaria’s hottest tourist attractions.
His grandest idea for a castle, Schloss Falkenstein, was going to be built on the highest castle ruin in Germany. Ludwig fired an architect for not making sufficiently extravagant building plans but used them anyway because he couldn’t find anyone else. The project never started due to both monetary problems and Ludwig’s death
I'm almost sad that one was never made, the preparatory drawings are absolutely beautiful.
Don't know why, but you kind of skipped the fact that Ludwigs death was possibly a murder-suicide, his psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden was found dead with him. They both went to the lake, and when they didn't return, search parties went out and found their bodies later that night. It was assumed Gudden was beaten and Ludwig drowned. But there's been speculation if he was actually assassinated. Interesting life AND interesting death.
Yea for Ludwig, I knew about his mysterious death as much as castles and insanity. Considering it wasn't a "and then he got sick and died" type of ending, I figured it would feature here.
The cause of death remains suicide by drowning, which was ruled after someone gave the body a cursory look once it was retrieved from the lake. No further investigation has been carried out so listing all the theories in the video does nothing but add another unconfirmed speculation.
Yeah, I know he doesn’t do a lot with deaths, but this is one of the most interesting and mysterious deaths in history, so I’m disappointed it didn’t get a nod. Plus, while he was definitely eccentric, the doctor found dead arguably committed serious malpractice by declaring him insane, and was likely bribed to do so, giving a very interesting and even sympathetic motive if Ludwig killed him.
There is speculation that the police Officers on picket duty,, Gendarmes, panicked and opened fire in the dim light, the 3 involved were promoted to high ranks even though unable to read or write. Gudden was also Otto´s, Ludwig´s younger brother´s Dr who declared him mad even though it was probably PTSD, only the rich could afford it and Otto was an Infantry Officer who took part in a few battles, totally sane until then. Gudden had 2 other Dr at hand, one was his son and all knew their bosses wanted him declared Insane.
It would also be no surprise IF Ludwig murdered Gudden, he was 6´4´´and Gooden about 5´4´´inches, he probably played Dunking Doiughnuts with him, but how did he drown in thigh high water when he was a very strong swimmer?
Dr Gudden actually waved away 2 Gendarmes who accompanied them, stupidly he said they could go back for a beer, they weren´t needed.
Ludwig´s ``Cold Mother´´actually took to her bed and missed Ludwig´s funeral, he had always made a point of visiting her every birthday in Hohenschwangau.
Man's been playing Crusader Kings III beyond the end date deep into the times of Queen Victoria
I wish we could have a mod that takes plave during this period of time.
Neuschwanstein was never really finished, actually. It's mostly empty on the inside because it was never used to live in.
After Ludwig's death his successor basically said: "This was way too expensive to leave it unfinished but we are NOT wasting even more money to fully complete it. Just finish it enough so it can make us some of that money back as a tourist attraction".
And it made that money back manyfold
Yes, they were selling tickets 6 weeks after his death, he never Bankrupted Bavaria as a State, but he certainly caused his family financial problems.
THere were 3 Wars during his Reign, that he couldn´t stop, he hated War, they cost more than the Castles.
When Disney were looking for inspiration for castles in their animated films and theme parks they looked at this castle.
In a big twist of irony, Neuschwanstein (the greatest and most expensive castle) is today the most profitable tourist attraction in Bavaria and a goldmine for the bavarian state.
His technical successor was also insane which is why his uncle kept the power.
Probably PTSD, at that time unknown and only the rich could afford to have it!
i started laughing when he lost it at "teenage heartthrob richard wagner"
I know, Wagner, a heartthrob? As if!
@@ElizabethMcCormick-s2n Wagner was a man you never left your wife alone with.... or loaned him money.
Yes, more BULLSHITI He begged his Father at 14 to be allowed to see a Wagner Opera, untill Wagner´s death his diary was full of him as a Beatle´s fan, to say they were in love is a smear and bollocks, Hitler loved Wagner as well!
Getting the context behind all the building projects of Ludwig II, really puts into perspective what a sad and shallow man he really war.
Shallow, never, he was genius and designed Museums and Train Stations, he designed 8 Castles, he built 3.
Honestly, I relate to King Ludwig II. If I ever became a monarch, you _know_ I'm gonna use that money and power to make my living space into a fairy-tale wonderland and hang out with all my favorite celebrities.
So this Ludwig II guy is the reason Ring saw the light of day? That’s a terrifyingly delicate string of events behind arguably one of the greatest pieces of media ever created.
"WHY WOULD YOU LEAD WITH YES" needs to be a meme
That joke reminds me of a joke from the office. Michael hits maradith with his car and everyone asks about her and he says “they did everything they could and she’s going to be fine”
Ludwig was doing everything with Wagner but sleeping with the guy, and one wonders if Ludwig didn't try at least once. Also, during his castle building spree, he got a significant injection of cash from Bismarck to accept Wilhelm I as Kaiser.
You aren’t a man of culture if you didn’t try atleast twice
That anime transition and scene was unhinged and appreciated. Thank you for your service.
Ludwig II as an anime character, it all makes sense now.
I have been watching this channel for years and it just keeps getting better
The Bavarian flag tie is such a great easter egg
For me as a German, this finally explains his craziness 😂
Der am meisten auf dem Boden gebliebene Bayer:
the way he talks reminds me of kpop stans talking about their favs on twitter
4:37 perfect backing track for this segment as it's literally called "Valse sentimentale". Fitting for a such a character as Ludwig.
Ludwig also had a thing with Swans as a recurring motif in his life, so naturally we got a piece with Swan in the name 😎
Maybe he wasn't declared crazy because he actually was, but because the Bavarian government was tired of his shenanigans 😂😂😂😂.
I mean, if you lived in that time as an important political figure and then proceded to be a massive pain in the ass to everyone then they'd either kill you or find you insane
I mean it can be both
His successor, King Otto, was also declared insane.
He was pretty obsessive , though!
@@MatthewTheWanderer Otto was also his little brother!
as a member of the classical music fandom, this video was hilarious, in the best way possible. thank you, i love your content
You neglected to mention that when Ludwig was dethroned for being insane, he was replaced as King by his brother, Otto, who was so wacko that he had to have a regent and was finally dethroned by his cousin, who became King in his stead.
That was in 1913, he became Ludwig the 3rd, he was the son of Prince Regent Leopold, in 1918 after WW1 was the end of the Wittelsbach´s ruling Bavaria. The real loser was Otto, died in 1916 and that was a long time locked up when he was really sick with PTSD(Probably).
Ludwig's best known castle directly inspired the Disneyworld castle.
Also anime Ludwig is hilarious!
There is another famous minor emperor in history whose adoration of another person had massive historical consequences. One of the significant members of the Anti-Prussia force of the Seven Years War was Empress Elizabeth of Russia. And during her reign, war went pretty good in favor of the Austria-Russia-France coalition-putting Prussia to near defeat.
And according to Frederick II, two miracles saved Prussia from defeat. Second was the death of Empress Elizabeth and the accession of her son Peter the 3- who was a massive fanboy of King Frederick II. He immediately returned all conquered lands and signed peace. Frederick II called it the Second Miracle of the House of Brandenburg.
It wasn't good for Peter, as the nobility was SO infuriated that they coupéd him. It was led by his wife, a certain Princess Sophie Augusta - better known as the next Empress Catherine the Great of Russia.
If he wasn't such a simp, history could've taken far different course...
Ah Catherine the Great of Russia, she wasn’t Catherine, or Russian, or even that great honestly. And yet she ended up beign born under Mary Sue Mode to become one of the most famous rulers of one of the biggest empires ever.
I think I remember Jack mentioning him briefly in his Frederick the Great video
Also, I believe Peter the third was her nephew (but I might be wrong)
That's actually hilarious. She was a German princess before she married Peter and she basically revolted against her own husband because she was sick of him fanboying for Prussia and undoing all of Russia's victory against Prussia. I call that painfully ironic.
I am again suggesting you make a video about Hippolyte Bouchard. I know it is a name you probably never heard about, but trust me, you will love every moment of that guy's life from how it started to how it ended.
Is that the guy Napoleon's wife was banging on the side?
Oh? Tell me more!
Isn't this the guy who Josephine was sleeping with while she was married to Napoleon?
@@Borv413 Ding ding! You got it.
I think its a different Hoppolyte., thouch Bouchard has an interesting story of his own.
I can’t help but admire this man. Isn’t it fitting that he lived a life that is perfect for an opera. Well if I ever get in to composing I know my first project
...Oh. Wait. I visited that castle once on a tour. All I really remember was there were these portraits of Ludwig. The first one I saw was him with his beard and thought 'wow that looks awful, he should shave it." Then a few seconds later I looked at a portrait with him clean shaven and thought "...wow he looks worse without the beard."
I've actually been to one of Ludwig's castles! They never mentioned how INSANE he was they just mentioned he liked building castles
They would have even 40 years ago, today he´s just excentric!
Awesome video mate. As for a recommendation: How about a video about Hildegard of Bingen.
I've actually seen Ludwig's castle finished. It's Neuschwannstein Schloss and it's a famous tourist attraction in Germany. The grotto and the toilet are magnificent
He's like a 19th century Swifty
We should call obsessed fans "Ludwigs" instead of Stans.
Ludwig had a younger brother named Otto who was even more crazy that made him look like a genius in comparison. He was also a cousin to empress Sissi who was not quite right in the head, and his fiancée you mentioned happened to be her younger sister Sophie Charlotte. Oh those crazy Wittelsbachs!
You forgot to mention that Ludwig had a brother who is less mad just went crazy who became king after him
Ludwig is certainly one of the most onteresting kings in German History
He saved Wagner and helped change music forever. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like without this one passionate dude.
Crazy this popped up in my feed while I was visiting Neuschwanstien. Really is a beautiful castle!
My dad is German and as a kid he took me to one of the castles and told me it was "the mad king" who built them. It's always been an odd vague fact locked in my brain. When I got to the castle section in this video and realised Ludwig was the mad king my dad was referring to, I exclaimed "HOLY SHIT!" so loud it shocked my wife and dog.
I have been to the castle at Neuschwanstein. It really is beautiful definitely worth seeing.
bavarian history is so underrated
Especially in the 1920s...
Didn't think I'd feel frisky over anime Ludwig...Jack packing lessons on lessons I swear
The anime closeup and bluey reference has made this one of my favorite videos of yours
Thanks for covering our most iconic king. I even learned some new titbits. Also, nice tie!
I have seen Neuschwanstein castle. You have to hand it to Ludwig: It IS really pretty.
please do a video on kangxi emperor
I want to see a show based on this guy.
I’m so glad to finally see and actual biography of a person on this channel, been to long
9:45: Imagine if he had to deal with the Teamsters.
he also planned a Chinese palace. it only exists as two drawings. he already bought himself a chinese styled emperor's robe to wear in it.
the fuck...😭
@@thedisastrouslifeofnikocad9857 He had already built himself a palace inspired by Versailles where he would cosplay as Louis the Sun King and expected his servants to address him only in French. The Chinese palace was where he would cosplay as the Emperor of China, but the design was rejected (much to his architect's anger) for the Falkenstein Castle plans.
EARLY! Love your content 😊😊😊
Just imagine if Ludwig had his own HGTV show
And here I thought Peter the third was history's biggest stan...
This is exactly what I expect would happen if a modern day music stan was given control of a country as a teenager.
Funny how nobody mentions Ludwig's successor, Otto, who was about as equally mentally unstable dying right around the first world war
Certified Jack Rackam classic
As a south german let me tell you ol'Ludwig didn't deserve what he got in the end :(
ironically his castles are now a major source of income in bavaria, from trourists
What a guy - he was his authentic self to the end, no doubt!
God, it's like a pre-electricity twittter stalker
Fun fact: Neuschwanstein had electricity and was the first one in Bavaria with a telephone.
@@conorstapleton3183 Just like how the Hawaiian palace had electricity before the White House!
Before the US even annexed it!
@@deismaccountant really?
@@augustuslunasol10thapostle yeah look it up
Hey Jack, love your videos. I think the emperor/empress (we don't really know) Elagabal would be an interesting topic. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for making a video on my all time favourite historical figure.
Hi, could the next video be on the life and times of Norodom Sihanouk?
He a playable leader for Germany (yes, a very weird pick) in Civilization 6. His unique ability is that wonders produce extra culture even if not completed.
This means you can fill a city up with 1 brick of multiple wonders laid down and get culture from them without ever working on them.
That’s a hell of a thumbnail
When did the animation get so amazing
My brain just exploded at the thought of Atrstotle and Cicero debating each other.
I want to see that see bad! hahahaa
I best know about Ludwig II because of his role in the alt-historical RPG Castle Falkenstein.
I seem to recall that he went out on a boat ride with his doctor and the doctor came back and was all "oh yeah he totally jumped and drowned himself this is 100% what happened" so that was the official story
also, Ludwig would have loved ChatGPT
Actually, the real mystery is that he and his doctor both turned out dead somehow
Damn. I haven’t seen a man this obsessed with Richard Wagner since Dimitry Utkin.
Now the parallels with the Sherlock Holmes story ’a scandal in Bohemia’ is quite interesting
Not in his wildest dreams did ludwig imagine he would be depicted in anime like style.
4:53 that anime transition got me choked
Thank you.
You cant keep doing that anime bit! Too funny
Kinda funny that in the long run, his castle was a great investment
8:00 "I am a dude, diguised as a dude, playing another dude." - Kains at some point, probably.
Please make a video about John Brown.
Can u do a video for Albert Roche, rly wanna see what u can pull off with his story during ww1
I know this doesn't mean anythimg but you're my favorite history TH-camr and if I could unwatch your videos just to rewatch them I would
What an absolute madlad.
How about making a video about Elagabalus. Lately I have read a lot about him and was thinking there was definitly enought wierd rumors and myths about his character to warrand a video of yours. Just an Idea :)
Or you did already make on and I just didnt find it.
I swear, if this wasn’t a biography, I would’ve easily mistaken this whole thing as a plot of a book or a movie or even an anime of some kind.
Ah yes tourist king of Germany in civ 6!
Enjoyed the video a lot...
Now that you've mentioned Wagner... Please do a video on him. I watched the video BioGraphics did on him a while ago (I think two years or so), and I think you'll really enjoy making the video....
Also, there should've been more music from Wagner.
That opening question got me thinking.
Personally, I'd like to be in Ulm, Germany, in 1905. Attending Einstein's dissertation would have been something else.
And today Ludwig is the most popular king of the region in their history: All his Castles are Tourist Gold. :)
Over the course of this video I went from thinking Ludwig sounds like a weird cringy sexually deviant high school theater kid to thinking he might just be a true full-blooded, bonafide Chad from the tomes of ancient history. Perhaps one day he will return to us in fulfillment of the prophecies
I hope your cover Wagner next as a part 2. (Perhaps the most important composer of the 19th century).
I never thought I’d live to see an Ai anime character in a Jack Rackham video
please make a video about the Kangxi Emperor please
Why change the thumbnail? It was perfect as it was.
TH-cam just allowed A/B testing on thumbnails, so I figured I'd throw up alternate versions of a few recent thumbnails to see what people respond to
@@JackRackam What an honor to receive an answer from Jack himself.
Thank you for wearing the colors of Bavaria. God save the king.
Ludwig has finally acheved his dream of being a Jack Rackam subject.