Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drawn by a steam locomotive called
Adler
(Eagle), Germany's first railway com-
mences operations between Nuremberg and nearby Fürth, transporting newspapers,
beer and people. It ploughs on until 1922.
1848
A man with a weakness for the arts and beautiful women, King Ludwig I is forced to
resign after his affair with Lola Montez causes a public scandal.
1865
Wagner's opera
Tristan and Isolde
was premiered at Munich's Nationaltheater on 10
June during the composer's 18 months in the city under the patronage of Ludwig II.
1869
Building work on Neuschwanstein castle is begun by architect Eduard Riedel. Due to
lack of funds work was halted in 1892 and Ludwig II's fairytale pile was never com-
pleted.
1870-71
Through brilliant diplomacy and the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck creates a unified
Germany. However, Bavaria keeps much of its sovereignty and many of its own insti-
tutions.
1886
King Ludwig II is declared mentally unfit and confined to Schloss Berg (Berg Palace)
on Lake Starnberg where he drowns in mysterious circumstances in shallow water,
alongside his doctor.
1914-18
WWI: Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey go to war against Britain, France, Italy
and Russia. Germany is defeated, the monarchy overthrown and Bavaria declared a
'free state'.
1919
Left-leaning intellectuals proclaim the Münchner Räterepublik on 4 April, hoping to
create a Soviet-style regime. The movement never spreads beyond Munich and is
quashed by government forces on 3 May.
