Death and Legacy of King Ludwig

How much did Ludwig’s castles cost?

Royal Bavarian Castles Life and Lifestyle of King Ludwig Death and Legacy of King Ludwig

Expenditure each year on Ludwig's castles

This information comes from "König Ludwig II und die Kunst" (King Ludwig II and the Arts), by Dr. Michael Petzet, published in Munich in 1968. This book is, unfortunately, long out of print. The left columns show the estimated amounts for each year, the right columns show the actual expenditure.

Year	Neuschwanstein		Linderhof		Herrenchiemsee
1869	110,000 ƒ	119,393 ƒ	30,000 ƒ	32,552 ƒ	—	—
1870	120,000 ƒ	109,794 ƒ	50,000 ƒ	31,312 ƒ	—	—
1871	125,000 ƒ	119,593 ƒ	125,000 ƒ	122,846 ƒ	—	—
1872	120,000 ƒ	128,940 ƒ	275,000 ƒ	294,335 ƒ	—	—
1873	78,000 ƒ	70,737 ƒ	150,000 ƒ	380,879 ƒ	—	219,472 ƒ
1874	100,000 ƒ	75,304 ƒ	125,000 ƒ	212,855 ƒ	80,000 ƒ	79,377 ƒ
1875	96,000 ƒ	101,445 ƒ	150,000 ƒ	662,260 ƒ	96,000 ƒ	86,628 ƒ
1876	132,000 ℳ	119,846 ℳ	408,000 ℳ	1,452,378 ℳ	150,000ℳ	184,571ℳ
1877	120,000 ℳ	131,559 ℳ	450,000 ℳ	1,342,254 ℳ	180,000 ℳ	229,088 ℳ
1878	100,000 ℳ	172,524 ℳ	130,000 ℳ	599,254 ℳ	700,000 ℳ	774,847 ℳ
1879	400,000 ℳ	265,136 ℳ	130,000 ℳ	315,816 ℳ	870,000ℳ	944,473 ℳ
1880	300,000 ℳ	332,645 ℳ	120,000 ℳ	196,402 ℳ	734,000 ℳ	1,087,360 ℳ
1881	300,000 ℳ	156,847 ℳ	120,000 ℳ	183,193 ℳ	870,000 ℳ	944,473 ℳ
1882	300,000 ℳ	706,357 ℳ	150,800 ℳ	165,203 ℳ	865,000 ℳ	1,701,184 ℳ
1883	200,000 ℳ	1,651,829ℳ	150,000 ℳ	208,077 ℳ	605,000 ℳ	4,005,700 ℳ
1884	100,000 ℳ	536,791 ℳ	200,000 ℳ	163,436 ℳ	361,820 ℳ	2,534,117 ℳ
1885	—	65,223 ℳ	76,000 ℳ	245,119 ℳ	3,000 ℳ	784,785ℳ
1886	—	798,274 ℳ	36,000 ℳ	612,022 ℳ	1,000 ℳ	2,498,842 ℳ
Total	3,236,000 ℳ	6,180,047 ℳ	3,521,428 ℳ	8,460,937 ℳ	5,641,534 ℳ	16,579,674 ℳ

ƒ = Guilders, ℳ = Marks. (Bavaria changed its currency to Marks in 1876)

For Educational Purposes Only. Information from a Geocities website.

Ludwig II left behind a large collection of plans and designs for other castles that were never built, as well as plans for further rooms in his completed buildings. Many of these designs are housed today in the King Ludwig II Museum at Herrenchiemsee Castle. These building designs date from the latter part of the King's reign, beginning around 1883. As money was starting to run out, the artists knew that their designs would never be executed. The designs became more extravagant and numerous as the artists realized that there was no need to concern themselves with economy or practicality.