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Speech about King Ludwig II
During spring break 1988, I went with other students and parents and my German teacher to four German-speaking countries: Austria, West Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Keep in mind: a teenager wrote this.
After spring break in Europe, I returned to normal life in a rural Indiana high school, but it didn’t feel like normal life. The following is the unabridged version of a speech I wrote and delivered for Speech Class shortly after returning from Europe and reading at least one biography on Ludwig.
While in Bavaria, I developed a considerable interest in Ludwig II, or Mad King Ludwig. When I came back home, I read a biography of him and made a speech on Ludwig in speech class.
Ludwig Wittelsbach was born at Castle Nymphenburg in 1845. He was born on his grandfather’s birthday, and he was named after him. Ludwig had a difficult childhood. His father, King Maximilian, paid little attention to either Ludwig or his brother Otto. Ludwig once had a pet turtle, but King Max took it away because he thought his son was too fond of it [I thought I read that Max killed the turtle]. Ludwig’s mother had no imagination and didn’t understand the boy. Thus the two brothers grew up bashful and high-strung.
In 1864, King Maximilian died of severe rheumatism and worry; therefore, Ludwig became king at the age of nineteen. Ludwig…