GDL01 - Germany Intro & "Mad" Ludwig Castles

Moving into . .  "Deutschland" . .  GERMANY

➤  (we've  skipped   Zurich,   Switzerland - too expensive
so we also missed seeing Zwingli's Church there . .

Ulrich  Zwingli 
✔️  agreed with Martin Luther on many issues,  but . . 

➤   they went  . . separate ways  . . on the topic of  . . 
Communion
( also  referred  to  as )
THE  LORD'S  SUPPER

➤  Zwingli was a major force in the early "REFORMED" split among Protestants . .

believing The Lord's Supper only  "represented" . . "memorialized"

Christ's sacrificing His Body and shedding His Blood for the sins of mankind.


Zwingli and Luther were only 7 weeks different in age.





John Calvin  (Geneva)  was a generation younger
& felt  Zwingli & Luther  "didn't go  . .  FAR ENOUGH " . .  in REFORM

✔️  During  Medieval  times  (500 - 1500 A.D.)

Germany was divided into . .  300  'KINGDOMS'

Each Kingdom had 

its'  own  . .  KING  

its' own  . .  CASTLE

its' own  . .  COINAGE

its' own  . .  Weights  and  Measures 

➤   Martin Luther  . . lived during late Medieval / late 1400s  into 1500s / early Renaissance period 

➤   Germany is the . .  Land of  . .   PROTESTant  REFORMation

and  CATHOLIC  . .  "Counter" - Reformation 

➤   which  CHANGED  WORLD  HISTORY  . .  A  monumentally  "pivotal moment"

There will be more information coming up later

✔️  During  Mid - 1800s  . .  Germany  was   . .   35  'COUNTRIES'

✔️  Today  . .  Germany is  . .   16  'STATES'

(There's a lot to digest in this country  . .  for  BETTER  and  for  WORSE

We'll touch on a number of things in yet to be written Blogs)

Notice "Deutchland's" comparative  SIZE
(also similar to area of Montana)

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We're beginning in the far south . .  in the State of  . .  Bavaria

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In the little Bavarian Alps town of . .

FUSSEN   

(homebase to see  . .  2 famous Castles)

Does the name   "Wittlesbach"  . .  rings any bells in your brain?

"Mad  King  LUDWIG"

  is from the  . .  House  of  Wittelsbach
. .  son of Ludwig I
. .  grandson of Maximillian I

His relatives ruled this part of Bavaria for nearly . .  700 years !

These views show his boyhood home

The  WITTELSBACH's  'reign'  overlapped  the  HABSBERGS  

(next door in Vienna, Austria and beyond  . .   it's a very long broad deep fascinating story)

The region is mountainous and heavily forested

Quite a playground for young  LUDWIG  and his smaller brother  OTTO

Imagine these grounds being  YOUR  back yard . . 

Ludwig loved nice things  .  architecture  .  privacy  .  building things 

DID  HE  EVER  !!

From  ONE  of the "homes" he was building for himself

he could see his childhood home . . over there

looking like this !

The childhood home was called

"HOHENSCHWANGAU"

From  Hohenschwangau  his could watch thru a telescope 

the progress being made on  . .   his  OWN  Property

which  he  called

"NEUSCHWANSTEIN"

It's so large and so forested and so steep it's awkward to get a good pic.

A good-sized Model of what the entire castle would have looked like  . . 

had Ludwig been able to complete his dreams  . . 

had he not been found dead just prior to his 41st birthday

after being declared insane  (never having been examined even once)

Reason for his death  (found dead in a lake . . no evidence on site)  still unknown
He . . was "crazy" about building beautiful places . .
His countrymen . . might have gone "crazy" worrying about the money Ludwig was spending . . 

Side view

He was spending a lot of his own money as well as borrowing borrowing borrowing

Today Bavaria is raking in a bundle from tourism seeing this and several other castles he was building

Ludwig loved the  SWAN  for a Symbol  . . everywhere on his property

as Motifs on the walls and ceiling

as sculpture in and outside the castle
as fountains and furniture

as dishware and cooking utensils

Trekking between the shuttle bus and the castle itself  . .  there are good spots to sneak a shot

From the castle most people do the climb to
St. Mary's Bridge 
hoping for the best possible view.

In spite of the dreary weather all are surprised at the number of people

up here . . instead of down in some cozy cafe !

The long line takes at least half hour before we step on to the bridge

The clouds kept rolling around . . sometimes the view was pure white 

This . . was the best we could find

Back down at the shuttle bus stop . .

look hard . . behind us on the hill thru the fog is the "castle"

The little town of Fussen  (FEW-zen)  is very busy feeding, housing, and transporting visitors.

The town has existed since the days of the  "stocks" (as in  . .  'punishment' . .  not investments)

We unpacked and repacked here at  "L.A." Hostel  (first initials of the he and she owners)

Also referred to as Zimmer,  B&B,  Chambre,  and all the rest.
Enjoyed  "BRIDEY" (mgr. from Australia) . . (name sounds like 'wedding' bride, she says)

Time to move further north to the town famous for  "Oktoberfest"
See you there!

  

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