King Ludwig II used his personal fortune to fund the castle’s construction, but it didn’t take long for money to run thin. As he continued to expand the scope of the project, his debt continued to grow. The king soon owed 14 million marks, when he began demanding loans be found from Europe’s royalty. This financial strain, coupled with his reclusive nature and desire to remain out of government, started to raise eyebrows.
His nervous ministers decided to come together to put an end to what they saw as a runaway train. They began to gather testimonies from his staff detailing erratic behavior, including excessive shyness, expensive impulses, childish table manners, etc. Whether any of these were true remains unknown. It was enough though. These testimonies were used by a panel of psychologists (who hadn’t even seen the king) to declare him unfit to rule.
After he was deposed, he was taken from the castle in the middle of the night (only the 11th night he ever spent there.) The next day, his body was mysteriously found near the shore of Lake Starnberg, along with Dr. Gudden (one of the psychologists who declared him insane.) The death was ruled a suicide by drowning, despite no water being found in his lungs and accounts of bullet holes in his back.
At the time of his death, only 15 of the 200 rooms in the castle were finished. Despite being incomplete, the castle still attracts over a million visitors each year. Ironic, when the castle was intended as a private retreat for the reclusive king. Also ironic is the castle that created such financial turmoil, now serves as a key income driver for the local economy.

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