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The royal hunt was in full swing. Horses galloped fiercely, champing at their bits, while dogs barked and horns rang shrilly in the crisp air; in the distance, the faint silhouette of a fleeing deer faded further from the royal hunting party. King Ludwig I of Bavaria flew over the fields upon his raven-colored steed, downright reveling in the thrill of the pursuit, wind beating against his face, and uncontainable excitement bubbling in his belly, which only the true hunter can recognize in tenacious pursuit of his fleeing prey. He felt so caught up in the heat of the moment that he soon found himself in a dark wood, with the sounds of the trailing party far-off in the distance. In time he recognized that he would find himself all alone in the unnavigable woods, heading in an unknown direction. All around him he beheld such beauty, as birds madly filled the air with their piercing songs, and as the unmistakable fragrance of flowers coursed upwards like invisible fire, that it seemed that the King had lost his head and forgot about all, surrendering entirely to the thunderstorm within his mind. Gradually the horse slowed to a trot, continuing on its forward course, occasionally casting quick backwards glances at the rider upon his sturdy back, lost to himself in dreamlike reverie. Soon the sentinel trunks started to thin and Ludwig arrived at a clearing where the peasants’ wheat fields had their rim and boundary. The King looked around… the place seemed to present itself as increasingly familiar to him. In the distance he beheld the sorrowful ruins of some ancient keep, containing a moderately sized Gothic church dome, as though growing from the remnants of walls and other forgotten structures. “It cannot be” - thought Ludwig suddenly and galloped in the direction of the old castle. Nearing the ruins, the King again cast his gaze in every which direction. He could have no doubt: before him lay the ruins of the former place of origin of the Wittelsbach family, the Burg Wittilinesbach, destroyed in 1209 following the murder of King Philip of Swabia by the vengeful Count Otto of Wittelsbach. In any case, thus sayeth the family legend. The King approached the walls and placed his jeweled hand upon the warm, overgrown mossy stones from a distant age - almost as from an opened barrel did the childhood memories flood through him. He remembered the tales told by his father of the might of the former Wittelsbach clan, of the brutally long war, of the family citadel that had collapsed into utter damnation over the centuries… and suddenly from behind he heard the din of galloping horses, as his hunter’s party approached - one among them sped towards his King, evidently troubled by having lost his Majesty in the wood. Ludwig positively shone towards the approaching huntsman, “Behold, Hans! These worthy ruins! Once this was an imperturbable fortress, wherein resided the dynasties of kings! Here were born future kings! Here were decided the fates of kingdoms! And what now, merely stones and blossoms. Our life is this way… today you are the hero and the pinnacle of human will to power, deciding the destinies of others, and tomorrow - only ruins shall remain and future generations shan’t even remember you.” Bowing before the King, the aged huntsman replied, “Your Highness, in this region of Bavarian Swabia lie the greatest wetlands for hunting, especially following the ruinous death of the castle… do you not desire to continue the hunt? We have lost our way to the side, for the moment.” Ludwig quickly acquiesced, “Of course, of course,” mounting his horse once again. Departing from the castle, nevertheless again the King cast his gaze behind him at the green-stained ruins that stood shrouded in dense trees and even denser mystery. “Burg Wittilinesbach… what a splendid name for a castle! The place where my ancestors lived positively cannot be left in ruins lost in the woods. I, the King of the land, will not allow it. The castle shall be rebuilt and returned to its royal dynasty.” - together with these thoughts the King galloped forth out of the clearing, tenderly bearing them as precious mental cargo, gaining speed and soon rejoining the remainder of the hunting party.
“Your Highness!” Exclaimed the royal treasurer with worry as he eyed the document that contained the preliminary plans for the renovation of the castle with the preliminary budget and fiscal estimates… “our treasury does not contain such a sum! You would have to heighten taxes or take a loan from the bank. We had already spent more than necessary on the construction and revitalization of Your capital - Munich. And even the senate would not approve the renovation of a crumbling old pile of stone - thus it was during the times of Your great-grandfather, then they also wanted to reinstate the castle but in the end could only construct a church, and even then not a large one. Even so, the castle is too large to be a museum, and surrounded by such dense forest…” - the treasurer returned the document to the King. Sighing resolutely, the King began, “Of course, we cannot raise taxes - the last thing we need is a popular uprising, but what to do? We cannot allow for my familial nest of origin to grow shrouded in grasses and shrubs! That is the memory of the Wittelsbach dynasty!” All of a sudden the Queen, Teresa, entered the conversation. “Darling!” She had long listened intently and with keen interest to the lively discussion between the two men - “Maybe we do not need to rush! The ruins will not grow any more ruined in our lifetimes, and we, over time, can amass the necessary sum that the renovation demands. And while we lack the money, in the meantime we can simply install some sort of monument upon the ruins, for instance, something in Gothic style, so that it looks complementary to the church.” Ludwig beamed and replied in the affirmative, “Very well. Today I shall rendezvous with Daniel Olmueller and shall order the construction of a new family monument. And furthermore, we shall issue a new Taler - for even if we shan’t get the chance to restore the ruins to their former glory, the monument and the Taler will bear witness to future generations that there once existed a great royal family that lived in a grand castle! Mazel tov!”
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And so be it! On a ruins of the familial castle of Wittelsbach near Aichach in today’s Bavarian Swabia one can still see lonely gothic monument of the Royal Family. In 1929 King Ludwig collected pledges of loyalty from people all around Bavaria and on 25th of August 1832 the foundation for the monument were built. Final opening ceremony happened on August 25, 1834. But what about “Burg Wittilinesbach”? Well, still in ruins.
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German Talers since 1800 by John S. Davenport.
Bavaria, King Ludwig Series (1825 - 1848).
Taler 1834, Royal Family Monument.
Davenport 572, KM 765(406), Thun 64, AKS 131, J.46.
Commemorative - for the erection of a monument in loyalty to the reigning family.
Obverse: Head of the Ludwig I to the right, LUDWIG I KOENIG VON BAYERN. ZEHN EINE FEINE MARK.
Reverse: DENKMAHL DER ANHAENGLICHKEIT BAYERNS AN SEINEN HERRSCHERSTAMM ERRICHTET ZU OBERWITTELSBACH, Monument, 1834 below.
NGC MS 62.
28.0600 g., 0.83300 Silver, 0.7515 oz. ASW.
Attractive dark bronze patina, mirror fields, spectacular-looking coin!!