Hemp field becomes a folly in the mad spirit of King Ludwig

A picture of Neuschwanstein Castle, the retreat of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, took 1,200 hours to plough in a hemp field in Utting, Germany. The enterprise celebrates a king who was a promoter of the arts and architecture and littered Bavaria with imaginative castles.

Bavarians revere the eccentric King. Musicals and songs have been composed about him and Bavarian pubs still carry his portrait.



The King’s current popularity is based on admiration for his almost poetic love of building impractical castles.

His enthusiasm for castle-building was such that he bankrupted the state. The psychological explanation for his behaviour is most likely obsession, dubbed compulsive palace-building. However, he was declared insane shortly before he drowned in the Starnberg Lake near Munich in 1886.

The 20,000 sq m (215,000 sq ft) hemp field labyrinth will be open to the public from July 19 to September 20.