neuschwanstein was conjured from the imagination of ludwig ii, sometimes called "mad king ludwig". handsome, refined, and a lover of art and music, the young ludwig was like a prince from the pages of a storybook. maxa, voice-over: ludwig ii was only 18 when he was crowned king in 1864. at first, he tried to busy himself with ruling the kingdom, but a loner by nature, he really didn't have a talent for relating to his subjects. eventually he left the affairs of state to his ministers and became more and more obsessed with an extravagant scheme to build several grand and romantic castles, neuschwanstein being the most famous. initially, he funded his projects with his own money. but when he started to draw on the state funds, the government stepped in and had the 41-year old king declared insane. three days later, he and his physician were found drowned in a lake outside of munich. to this day, no one knows if it was suicide or murder. despite the controversy surrounding his life and death, ludwig continues to be very much beloved by bavarians. for a bird's-eye view of the castle, ho