v18_2442 - ALLEMAGNE - ROYAUME DE BAVIÈRE - LOUIS II 5 marks or 1877 Münich

GERMANY - KINGDOM OF BAVARIA - LUDWIG II

(03/10/1864-06/13/1886)

Louis II (25/08/1845-13/06/1886) is the eldest son of Maximilian II Joseph and Marie of Prussia. He succeeded his father in 1864. After Prussia, Bavaria was the most powerful state in the Reich. Unfortunately Louis II had supported his cousin François-Joseph Ier of Austria (1848-1916) against Guillaume Ier in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. A close friend of Wagner, he spent money lavishly and had many castles built in fantastic architecture. A neuropath with an idealistic and enthusiastic temperament, the ministry decided to have a certificate of insanity drawn up and committed. Taken to Berg Castle, he drowned in the nearby lake, possibly while trying to escape.