Up to the end of the first half of the last century intellectual and artistic development had made little progress in Bavaria. Weimar had become famous as the home of Goethe and Schiller, Herder and Wieland, but Munich was still merely a provincial town, not so large by half as it is to-day, while the many gardens scattered about among the houses gave it an almost rustic air. The population consisted chiefly of artisans, with a few wealthy citizens, the students of the university, and court _attachés_. Visitors to the capital at that time were few. Of social life, so called, there was practically none, and the free mingling of all classes in public places suggested Italian popular life, especially after King Ludwig’s plans for beautifying the city had begun to attract thither artists of all countries and ages. With the kings of Bavaria, however, a new order of things was instituted. Ludwig the First, who succeeded Maximilian, was far ahead of most German princes of his time in learning and culture. In early youth he had made himself conspicuous by his hatred of Napoleon, although the conqueror had been his father’s friend and ally. At the Congress of Vienna, Talleyrand had called him a clever madman, and he had been laughed at for his intense enthusiasm over everything pertaining to Germanism. His frequent sojourns in Rome were destined to be of the greatest importance to the art life of Germany, for, on ascending the throne, he swore to make his capital a city of such prominence that “no one should know Germany who had not seen Munich”; and to his honor be it said that he not only kept this vow, but did so with comparatively small means at his command. Thanks to his zeal and energy the finances of the country were soon in excellent condition. Most economical as to his own personal expenses, he devoted large sums to the purchase of rare treasures for the art collections he had planned for his capital, and employed a number of distinguished artists and architects to beautify the city, which now possesses many imperishable reminders of this art-loving sovereign.