Interesting.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Schloss Neuschwanstein ("New Swan Stone Castle") is one of the most beautiful and famous castles in Germany. Originally ordered to be built by King Ludwig II, this fairy tale castle is the epitome of neo-romantic style. The famous German castle overlooks the picturesque Hohenschwangau valley and is located only a short distance from the popular tourist town, Fussen.

Construction on the castle began in 1869, but given the exact tastes of King Ludwig II, progress was very slow going. As an example, it took 14 carpenters four and a half years just to complete the woodwork in Ludwig's bedroom. The King was an immense devotee of Richard Wagner, even going as far as naming the castle after a character in one of Wagner's operas--the Swan Knight. In none of the other castles in Germany will you find more instances of Ludwig's fondness for Wagner's work. Tapestries depicting scenes from Wagner's opera can be found inside.

Construction was halted on the castle and King Ludwig II was removed by power due to intrigue within his own cabinet. The King himself was rarely concerned with matters of state and was sometimes thought to suffer from hallucinations. However, what frightened the cabinet were the rumors of their possible removal. Under Bavarian law, a King could be removed from power if he were found unfit to rule. The cabinet produced this report and deposed of the King. However, Ludwig's mysterious death--ruled a suicide at the time--suggests that the cabinet was not content to merely remove him from power. This bit of mystery makes the atmosphere of Neuschwanstein one of the most intriguing of the castles in Germany.

Unfortunately, many of the rooms in the enchanting castle remained bare. Only 14 rooms were finished before Ludwig's death. Yet the beauty of this famous German castle cannot be denied. The sun reflects magnificently off the pearly walls of Neuschwanstein. Inside, the throne room is the picture of opulence. Intricate frescos of angels and other Christian depictions can be found. There is no throne, only a raised dais at the end of the room, as the King was removed from power before a throne could be built.

Guided tours are available for this classic and famous German castle and is a must see for any that visit Bavaria.

I visited Neuschwanstein and climbed every last one of the 160 plus steps in the process. We arrived on site just as the last van of tourists had gone up to the castle for the last guided tour of the day. I was bummed, couldn't believe that I was there but had missed the ride by a couple of minutes. The very hale and husky, young, german girl selling tickets said, you could always walk up there. Foolish me, said great idea, and I took off on foot. GRRRRRROAN. ... I called it a mountain, the locals scoffed and said it is a hill.... whatever it is, it is very, very steep and I was some-kind-of-dragging by the time I got there so you can imagine my reaction to all those interior steps and stairways. Mercifully, the caretaker was gracious enough to provide a ride back down the mountain/hillside once the tour was finished. Although the walk up to the entrance, then all those steps were, indeed, brutal, especially at the end of the day, it was worth the effort. I can well understand why Walt Disney was so enchanted with the castle and the lovely fairy tale setting.

I also went to Linderhof, another of the three castles Ludwig built. Versailles served as the inspiration for Linderhof and it is the only one that was completely finished when he died. While it is very beautiful, classic in design and scale, it is luxurious, over the top gaudy in some areas yet ornately elegant in others with beautiful, park-like grounds.

Ludwig was a stone-cold Loon who broke the treasury of Bavaria with his excesses during his short lifetime. He was spoiled, petulant, paranoid, theatrical and selfish. He died young and under mysterous circumstances. To avoid having contact with the serving staff at Linderhof the dining room had a (?) hydraulic system allowing the dining table to be lowered to the kitchen on the lower level, filled with each new course then raised back up to the dining room level.

Still, Ludwig was a dreamer, most probably gay, and ahead of his time in many ways. He certainly had a eye for site selection, too, the locations he chose are spectacular. His castles have many interesting, innovative and surprisingly modern features, including some very large windows. The kitchen at Neuschwanstein was especially advanced with hot and cold running water. In fact, the castle had a hot air/central heating system, running water on all four floors, modern bathrooms. Ludwig communicated with his domestic staff by means of an elaborate electic bell system and he had telephones on the upper floors, there was a lift for transporting food and supplies within the castle. It was similar to the much larger one used to bring materials up to the site during construction. From Neuschwantstein's hillside location, Ludwig could look out across the town of Schwangau and see his family ancestral castle called Hohenschswangau on an adjacent hillside.