Sleeping Beauty's castle appears at the beginning of each Disney film. Many a child has seen this castle and dreamed of one day walking around in a place just like this. If this has been your childhood dream too, you should try and visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. This is the castle that inspired Disney's design.
Near the German border with Austria a number of villages make up the Schwangau municipality. In medieval times there were three castles in the hills overlooking these villages: Schwanstein, Vorderhohenschwangau and Hinterhohenschwangau. By the nineteenth century these castles were ruins, but in 1832 King Maximilian II of Bavaria bought Schwanstein and built a new castle there, called Hohenschwangau Castle.
The king's son was only eighteen when he had to take over the throne upon Maximilian II's death. Ludwig II was a dreamer, intensely shy and private. He wanted a place of his own where he could retreat to, so he decided to build himself a palace in the place of the ruins of the other two castles, Hinterhohenschwangau and Vorderhohenschwangau.
The first draft of the design was made by a Munich stage designer called Christian Jank. Jank was the perfect choice, since Ludwig II loved the work of Richard Wagner. The king wanted his new home to look like a medieval castle like the ones in Wagner's operas. Eduard Riedel, an architect, then used Jank's drawings as basis for his architectural design, with the king's input. The result was a design in the Romanesque Revival style.
Building began in 1868 with the preparation of the building site, but the first foundation stone was laid about a year later. The castle was built of brick and then covered in white limestone, sandstone and marble. The king moved into the building in 1884 even though construction wasn't completed yet. In fact, he never saw the completion of his dream palace, since he died in 1886.
Six weeks after the king's death, the castle was opened to public visitors who paid an entrance fee. This helped recover the building costs. Since then it has become a popular tourist attraction and it now receives 1.3 million visitors annually.
Visitors can only enter the building as part of a guided tour. When you visit, the tour guide will help you appreciate the ornate paintings depicting scenes from those sagas that inspired Wagner's operas. The Upper Hall has the saga of Gudrun while the Lower Hall shows the Sigurd saga. The story of Tristan and Isolde is depicted in the bedroom and the tragic tale of Tannhauser is shown in the study. Parzifal's adventures are shown in the Singer's Hall and those of his son Lohengrin in the Salon.
Getting to Neuschwanstein Castle is very easy. You can travel by car or take public transport to Fussen and from there to Hohenschwangau, the village below the castle. Admission tickets are available in the booking office in the village. Then you only need to take a bus or a horse-drawn carriage or if you prefer, you can hoof it up the hill to visit the castle of legends.
Near the German border with Austria a number of villages make up the Schwangau municipality. In medieval times there were three castles in the hills overlooking these villages: Schwanstein, Vorderhohenschwangau and Hinterhohenschwangau. By the nineteenth century these castles were ruins, but in 1832 King Maximilian II of Bavaria bought Schwanstein and built a new castle there, called Hohenschwangau Castle.
The king's son was only eighteen when he had to take over the throne upon Maximilian II's death. Ludwig II was a dreamer, intensely shy and private. He wanted a place of his own where he could retreat to, so he decided to build himself a palace in the place of the ruins of the other two castles, Hinterhohenschwangau and Vorderhohenschwangau.
The first draft of the design was made by a Munich stage designer called Christian Jank. Jank was the perfect choice, since Ludwig II loved the work of Richard Wagner. The king wanted his new home to look like a medieval castle like the ones in Wagner's operas. Eduard Riedel, an architect, then used Jank's drawings as basis for his architectural design, with the king's input. The result was a design in the Romanesque Revival style.
Building began in 1868 with the preparation of the building site, but the first foundation stone was laid about a year later. The castle was built of brick and then covered in white limestone, sandstone and marble. The king moved into the building in 1884 even though construction wasn't completed yet. In fact, he never saw the completion of his dream palace, since he died in 1886.
Six weeks after the king's death, the castle was opened to public visitors who paid an entrance fee. This helped recover the building costs. Since then it has become a popular tourist attraction and it now receives 1.3 million visitors annually.
Visitors can only enter the building as part of a guided tour. When you visit, the tour guide will help you appreciate the ornate paintings depicting scenes from those sagas that inspired Wagner's operas. The Upper Hall has the saga of Gudrun while the Lower Hall shows the Sigurd saga. The story of Tristan and Isolde is depicted in the bedroom and the tragic tale of Tannhauser is shown in the study. Parzifal's adventures are shown in the Singer's Hall and those of his son Lohengrin in the Salon.
Getting to Neuschwanstein Castle is very easy. You can travel by car or take public transport to Fussen and from there to Hohenschwangau, the village below the castle. Admission tickets are available in the booking office in the village. Then you only need to take a bus or a horse-drawn carriage or if you prefer, you can hoof it up the hill to visit the castle of legends.
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