Narrating the sad life of Empress Sissi, Martin gets to the part that gives our story its title:
“Meanwhile, on June 24, 1859, with the battle of Solferino and San Martino, Austria lost the war against Piedmont and France and, after the armistice of Villafranca, had to give up Lombardy. The personal and political crisis was followed by a marital one: Sissi learned of her husband's infidelity, and her health suffered a further collapse. The doctors spoke of a serious lung disease, but it was probably a different problem, exacerbated by nervous breakdowns and slimming treatments. According to her biographer Brigitte Hamann, the Empress suffered from a form of anorexia nervosa. During that period she distanced herself even more from the court and formed a strong friendship with Ludwig II of Bavaria, her second cousin.”
“Ludwig is remembered as the 'Swan King,' the 'Fairy Tale King,' but also as the 'Mad King.' He was undoubtedly an eccentric character, a lover of the arts more than the duties of a sovereign. He ascended to the throne in 1864, at the age of 19. One of his first acts as king was to officially patronize his idol, the German composer Richard Wagner. A friendship developed between the two that at times became mercurial, with numerous ups and downs. Ludwig financed the construction of the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, Bavaria: an opera house dedicated solely to the performance of Wagner's musical dramas. But Ludwig is best known for his Fairy Tale castles. The most famous is undoubtedly the one we are talking about today. As I said at the beginning, we are in Neuschwanstein, a name that means 'new swan gatehouse,' and derives of course from the nearby town, Schwangau -- 'Swan County.'”
In America, Neuschwanstein is known indirectly, because it served as the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland. And like Disneyland, it is one of its country’s busiest tourist attractions, crowded all day with guests being hustled from one room to the next to make room for the next ticketed entry. Can you imagine Disneyland being closed for a day just to film a documentary? The lost revenue!
