Berg Castle (Bavaria)

Berg Castle (German: Schloss Berg) is a manor house situated on the east shore of Lake Starnberg in the village of Berg in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is famous as the site of King Ludwig II of Bavaria's death. Today, it remains home to the head of the house of Wittelsbach, currently Franz, Duke of Bavaria.

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, acquired a piece of land on the shores of Lake Starnberg in 1676 from the Horwarth family and ordered the construction of Berg Castle. Ferdinand used it for festivities, but it reached its zenith under his successors, elector Max Emanuel and Emperor Charles VII, when it was the scene of spectacular entertainments and hunts.

Between 1849 and 1851 King Maximilian II instructed the architect Eduard Riedel to redesign the castle in Neo-Gothic style, with added crenellations and four towers, for which the king bought additional land. (Maximilian's son Ludwig II of Bavaria had a fifth tower constructed, which he called "Isolde"). In 1853 Maximilian had a small private harbour built.

Ludwig II used the castle as his summer residence, moving here regularly every year on 11 May and performing the business of state from it. For this purpose he had a telegraph connection installed between the castle and Munich.

In 1868 the Czarina of Russia Maria Alexandrovna visited Berg at the King's invitation. Ludwig gave her the castle to live in for the duration of her visit and had it magnificently decorated for the occasion: the castle was otherwise, by Ludwig's standards, rather modestly appointed.

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