The Insanity of King Louis II. of Bavaria

Abstract

The striking events surrounding the end of King Louis of Bavaria attracted the attention of the whole civilized world. Much has already been published on the subject in the newspapers; but as the “Journal of Mental Science” will go down to the future as a record of what took place in the department of insanity, it has been thought proper that this great historical tragedy should be reviewed in our pages. It is likely that State considerations will prevent any of the physicians who took part in the proceedings from publishing what came to their knowledge. Our principal sources of information have been three German pamphlets,∗ the extra edition of the “Berliner-Börsen Zeitung,” of 15th June, 1886, and a collection of cuttings from English and American newspapers. A study worthy of the attention of psychologists is afforded, apart from the interest derived from the rank of the unfortunate prince and the pathetic character of the event which brought his life to a close. We see the evolution of an hereditary disposition to insanity helped instead of hindered by external circumstances. The family of Wittelsbach was one of the oldest amongst the ruling princes of Europe. The Duke of Bavaria, a prominent figure in the Thirty-Years' War, became an electoral prince of the German Empire in 1623. When Gustavus of Sweden entered Munich in 1632, he much approved of the taste displayed in the apartments of the palace of the fugitive Elector, and asked “Who was the architect?” “He is no other,” answered the attendant, “than the Elector himself.” “I should like to have him,” said the King, “to send him to Stockholm.” Thus a taste for decorative architecture seemed to have appeared at this early date in this princely family. Maximilian Joseph I. was made king by Napoleon after the battle of Austerlitz, at the same time receiving the Tyrol as the reward of his alliance. In this prince the family taste for art showed itself in many ways. He acquired the Aeginetanmarbles, the Dürer and the Düsseldorf gallery. His son, Louis I., spent millions of money in adorning Munich with splendid buildings in the Greek and Italian styles, and was the patron of Cornelius and the elder Kaulbach. The weaknesses of a virtuoso, and the scandals and imprudences into which he was led by his mistress, Lola Montes, brought about his deposition in the stormy year 1848. He was succeeded by his son, Maximilian II., whose rule was unpopular, owing to his reactionary tendencies. Maximilian's brother became King of Greece, till his subjects got rid of him without much ceremony or difficulty in 1862, when he returned to Bavaria.