June 18, 2023 - Germany
Linderhof Palace
Leaving Oberammergau, we headed west on a two-lane road through the Bavarian Alps, to Linderhof Palace.  From the parking lot, there is a scenic 10-minute stroll to reach the palace.
   
Map of the grounds.
   
Our first view of the palace.  Per Rick Steves:  "This homiest of "Mad" King Ludwig's castles is a small, comfortable exquisite mini Versailles -- good enough for a minor god."
 
In 1878, construction was completed on Ludwig's Linderhof Castle, an ornate palace in neo-French Rococo style, with handsome formal gardens.
 
Ludwig lived much of his last eight years here, by himself.  Our guide told us he did not invite guests here or entertain.  He even dismissed the house staff after dinner so that he was the only one in the palace.
   

To understand Linderhof Castle, and the other Castles we will see tomorrow, you have to understand King Ludwig II.

Ludwig II was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886.

Born at Nymphenburg Palace in 1845, which we toured in Munich, he was the elder son of Maximilian II of Bavaria and Marie of Prussia, who became King and Queen in 1848 after the abdication of the former's father, Ludwig I, during the German revolution of 1848–1849.   Ludwig's childhood years included lots of time at Hohenschwangau Castle, a fantasy castle his father had built near the Alpsee (Alp Lake) near Füssen which we will see tomorrow.

Crown Prince Ludwig was in his 19th year when his father died after a three-day illness, and he ascended the Bavarian throne in 1864.  However, he was not an absolute monarch like say Louis the 14th of France; he was a constitutional monarch more like King Charles of modern Great Britain.  Others made the decisions in Bavaria during his kingship which was mostly ceremonial.

It also helps to understand what was going on in Bavaria, Prussia and later Germany at the time.  Unification with Prussia took center stage from 1866. In the Austro-Prussian War, which began in August, Ludwig supported the Austrian Empire against Prussia.  Austria and Bavaria were defeated, and the Kingdom of Bavaria was forced to sign a mutual defense treaty with Prussia. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, Bavaria was required to fight alongside Prussia. After the Prussian victory over the Second French Empire, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck moved to complete the unification of Germany.  All this took place during King Ludwig II's reign.

With no political power, he increasingly withdrew from day-to-day affairs of state in favour of extravagant artistic and architectural projects. He commissioned the construction of lavish palaces: Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof Palace, and Herrenchiemsee. He was also a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner. Ludwig spent all his own private royal revenues (although not state funds as is commonly thought) on these projects, borrowed extensively, and defied all attempts by his ministers to restrain him.

The palace facade faces a beautiful, stepped garden.
   
Ludwig never married nor had any known mistresses.
 
Although many considered Ludwig peculiar, the question of clinical insanity remains unresolved.
 
This is the area in the rear of the palace.
   

 A side garden.
   

Unfortunately, taking pictures was not allowed in the palace.  All the interior pictures were downloaded from "The Internet".  Here is the floor diagram of the palace.  As you can see, the palace was very small, with only six rooms and four cabinets.
   
Going in the main entrance, the first room you enter is the Hall of Mirrors.
   

The Vestible, featuring a statue of Louis XIV of France.   It is a copy, on a smaller scale, of a monument erected in Paris in 1699.  On the ceiling, the Sun King’s head is surrounded by golden beams of light. Two putti fly before them, carrying the motto of the Bourbons in their hands: NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR (Not unequal to many).

From the Vestible, we went clockwise around the small palace, starting with the West Tapestry Room.
   
The West Tapestry Room
   
The Audience Room
   
Lilac Cabinet
   
The Bed Chambers.
   
Pink Cabinet
   
The fabulous Dining Room.  I gather the King liked to eat alone, however.
   
The Dining Room from another angle.
   
The Eastern Tapestry Room
   
I don't remember seeing the Peacock Throne, but here it is.
   
Close-up of the priceless ivory chandelier which hangs in the dining room.
   
Behind the palace is Ludwig's grotto, which we did not see because it is undergoing renovation.  Inspired by Wagner's Tannhauser opera, it is actually a performance space.  The grotto features a waterfall, fake stalactites, and a swan boat floating on an artificial lake (which could be heated for swimming).
   
Emerging from the palace, it was time to check out the garden.
   
Although Linderhof is much smaller than Versailles, it is evident that the palace of the French Sun-King Louis XIV (who was an idol for Ludwig) was its inspiration.
   
Stylistically, however, the building and its decor take their cues from the mid-18th century Rococo of Louis XV, and the small palace in the Graswang was more directly based on that king's Petit Trianon on the Versailles grounds.  The symbol of the sun that can be found everywhere in the decoration of the rooms represents the French notion of absolutism that, for Ludwig, was the perfect incorporation of his ideal of a God-given monarchy with total royal power. Unfortunately for him, such a monarchy could no longer be realised in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century.
   
 
   
The fountain thunders forth.
   
Thar she blows!
   
It's amazing how different things look the higher you go.
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
Walking back to the parking lot through an idyllic meadow.
   
 
   
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