Neuschwanstein Castle

Perhaps the most famous of Germany’s castles, Neuschwanstein Castle sits regally on the mountainside near the town of Schwangau and Hohenschwangau in Bavaria, Germany.

It is no surprise that people throughout the world make the journey to this little town near Fussen to experience this real life fairy tale castle.

While standing in the valley in the little village, one can see the dream castle Neuschwanstein on one side and the stately and almost as impressive Hohenschwangau on the other.

King Ludwig used to spend time in his boyhood home of Hohenschwangau peering out the window with his telescope watching the construction of Neuschwanstein.

It is hard to believe that King Ludwig only spent around six months of his life in his magnificent fairy tale palace.

Similar to the other of Germany’s castles in Bavaria, King Ludwig’s castle was to be a medieval nights castle, or at least have the appearance of one.

In reality, King Ludwig’s own reality was a little off. Instead of a medieval castle, Ludwig and his set designer planned a neo-Romanesque magical palace complete with turrets, winding staircases, oriel windows and circular towers.

It’s almost as if you can see a fire-breathing dragon flying in the distance, heading forward to kidnap the princess.

Dragons aside, Richard Wagner’s footprint can be found throughout the finished portion of the interior of the castle.

“Tannhauser”, one of Ludwig’s favorite works of Wagner’s can be recognized in on the walls of the kings bedroom where there is an entire grotto – like room that seemingly comes directly from a scene of the opera.

Wagner’s other works inspired murals and decorations throughout the castle as well, in the form of paintings and likenesses of swans.

Another famous feature of the interior of the castle is the kitchen, which includes a heated cupboard and hot and cold running water – pretty sophisticated stuff for that time!

The reason for this new name, it may come to no surprise, is because of Wagner’s influence on Ludwig from “Logengrin” and the main character, the Swan Knight’s castle.

Only fourteen rooms of the entire castle were finished before King Ludwig’s death.

Most of the plans for the interior castle were never carried out therefore leaving many of the rooms totally undecorated.

There was also a plan for a large castle keep in the courtyard; this of course was never built. When the king died, construction of the palace ceased immediately.

It is worth mentioning that King Ludwig II of Bavaria did not allow outsiders to visit his castles. Ironically, now over a million people a year visit his private sanctuary and muse at its wonder.

Planning to Visit?

In the little village in the valley between Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, is where you will find the ticket center that sells tickets to Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, and both.

My advice? BUY ONLINE! If you are going there, buy your tickets online and plan your visit around the times that you picked to go. visit this page if you want to learn more about buying online or traveling to Germany.

It is also an added benefit to you to visit the website that explains about the tour and how to get around between the castles. To get more info on buying tickets, click here, then click on the link to “Ticket-Center Hohenschwangau” to get your tickets.

There is a walk up a mountain to get to Neuschwanstein Castle itself. If you have some extra money, or would like to enhance your experience, I would recommend taking one of the horse drawn wagons up to the top of the hill.

I actually feel really sorry for the horses, having to carry all of us up there, but – well I don’t always feel like walking up a mountain!

Especially if you have young children or people who have a hard time walking, the horse drawn wagon is a great way to get up there.

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