["...so that he himself must use all his energy to control the hallucinations...". King Otto of Bavaria and Munich psychiatry around 1900].
King Otto of Bavaria (1848-1916), brother of "Dreamking" Ludwig II., had suffered from a severe psychiatric disorder since he was an adolescent. According to court manners of the time the psychopathological symptoms were at first neglected. After a public scandal in 1875 Otto was treated by the Munich psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden who used a variety of methods. These changing therapeutic measures reflected the scientific development of psychiatry during the second half of the 19th century. Since 1879 Otto, together with his princely household, was put into Fürstenried Castle near Munich where the so-called "Prinzenärzte" took over responsibility for medical care. In Fürstenried, the neuropathologist Franz Nissl, who served as Otto's "Prinzenarzt" from 1885 to 1887, brought into perfection his famous staining methods for neuronal tissue. Despite his mental incapacity Otto was proclaimed king of Bavaria after the dreamkings's death in 1886. The close connection between the "High Patient" and his doctors strengthened the social position of psychiatry as a public task.
Burgmair
Wolfgang
W
Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie) Historisches Archiv der Klinik Kraepelinstrasse 2, D-80804 München.
Weber
Matthias M
MM
D005197:Famous Persons; D005858:Germany; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000266:history*