The Ludwig Dream King Shrine (Aspen Mountain)

This Shrine is on Aspen Mountain and memorializes Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm), (25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death. (Some people refer to this Shrine as the "Mad King Ludwig Shrine." ) He is sometimes called the Swan King (English) and der Märchenkönig, the Fairy tale King (German). The shrine contains laminated photos of several of his castles.

This Shrine was mentioned in this September 1, 2005 Aspen Times article, discussing the readers' vote for the Best Shrine http://www.aspentimes.com/news/outside/: "There were 24 entries in this category (are there really that many shrines out there?), but only three received enough votes to be actual contenders. The Grateful Dead must still be hip, because the Jerry Garcia shrine on Aspen Mountain won with 21 votes. The John Denver Sanctuary in Rio Grande Park came in second, despite being a landscaped sanctuary and not really a “shrine” in the informal-nook-in-the-woods sense of the word. The Elvis shrine came in third with 14 votes. Whatever happened to Marilyn Monroe and Ludwig the Dream King?"

The quote below is from an article in the Rocky Mountain News "SHRINES ON THE MOUNTAIN ASPEN HAS UNSANCTIONED TRIBUTES TO JERRY GARCIA, MARILYN MONROE, OTHERS" March 16, 1998, by Deborah Frazier.

"There's an elaborate site for Ludwig II, King of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886. Ludwig sponsored composer Richard Wagner, built splendid castles that bankrupted his nation and lost his mind after he was expelled. Ludwig's shrine, in the only aspen grove on the sunny side of the West Ridge about halfway down the black diamond runs, was reputedly started by local artists who were enthralled with the eccentric, artistic king."

Photos of this shrine are needed; please send to AspenShrines@aol.com.