Mad King Ludwig's Travel Scholarship & Book Giveaway

Written by: Julia
Thursday, August 23, 2012 7:34 AM

Special Edition! Teach Through Educational Travel & Giveaway

Author and former teacher, Susan Barnett Braun, not only is our guest writer for Teach Through Educational Travel this week, but she is kindly giving away 5 copies of her new book, "Not So Happily Ever After: The Tale of King Ludwig II."

Inspired by her generosity, we would like to include a $1000 scholarship in the drawing for a teacher to take students on a trip to Central & Eastern Europe in 2013 or 2014.

Enter to win the grand prize of a $1000 school scholarship and/or a copy of Susan Braun's latest book! We will accept entries until 5pm on Thursday, August 30th.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany

Teach Through Educational Travel:
Mad King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany
Lesson by: Susan Barrett Braun

Who is King Ludwig II?

King Ludwig II of Bavaria built Neuschwanstein Castle. Ludwig was called the Fairytale King because he loved building elaborate castles, and he also enjoyed music and costumes. He was kind and giving to his people. But others called him “Mad King Ludwig” because of his quirks. He once dined with his horse. He liked to stay awake at night and sleep during the day. Even though he was king, he rarely met with his government officials. He died mysteriously in a lake at age 40 – did he drown? Was he murdered? To this day, no one is sure.

Download a larger image of Neushwanstein Castle and share the photo with your class, then try these discussion questions and classroom activities:

King Ludwig had a great eye for location. He chose a mountainside in the Bavarian Alps for Neuschwanstein. He placed a second castle in a valley, and built a third one on an island! Plan an ideal location for a castle of your own creation, keeping in mind your subjects, the climate and any other factors that a monarch may have to consider.

Neuschwanstein Castle is a fascinating place. It has 200 rooms, but only 15 were ever finished. It has a fancy throne room – but no throne! It looks like a medieval castle, but it was built in the 1870s. Download this paper model of Neuschwanstein Castle and build the castle. Then print out a picture of the castle and color it based on what materials you would use to build your imaginary castle. How would a castle you design be different than that of Neuchwanstein? Use your new skills to design a castle of your very own.

Check out more from Susan on her blog, Girls in White Dresses.

Don't forget to

Want more lesson ideas? See last week's Teach Through Educational Travel: Spiral Ramp in the Vatican Museum perfect for your next classroom activity.

We'd love to hear your ideas!

If you've completed a similar classroom activity, tell us about it by leaving a comment below. You could be our next guest blogger!

Categories:Travel, Teach Through Educational Travel

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Hi, I'm Julia! I am an art lovin', travel nut and my goal is to share my insights and discoveries with humor and enthusiasm on all of our social media avenues. On The Educated Traveler blog, the official blog of WorldStrides International Discovery programs, you’ll find all kinds of great information about travel and education, tips, news, classroom lesson ideas and more! Subscribe above!

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