Fairytale Castles

 

Munich, the capital of Bavaria, was the birthplace of King Ludwig II. Otherwise known as “Mad” King Ludwig, the builder of Neuschwanstein Castle.

Visiting the castle was supposed to be a huge pain, so we did something we normally don’t do, and used a tour company. The company took us to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof (two of Ludwigs three fairytale castles).

King Ludwig II was sometimes known as “Mad” King Ludwig. He inherited the throne at age 18, but wasn’t quite ready to be king. During his rule, he had three castles built. Two of which remain uncompleted. Building lavish castles takes a lot of money, and Ludwig was going through the royal money a little too quickly. His family decided to hire a doctor to declare him “mentally unstable” so that he was no longer fit to rule. He was arrested at Neuschwanstein and brought to Munich. Three days later him and his doctor were found dead in the lake. His death remains a mystery. The family was in need of money, so just six weeks after Ludwig died Neuschwanstein was open to the public as a museum.

Linderhof castle is the smallest of the three castles. It was also the only one to be completed. Finished in 1878 it is built in neo-French Rococo style. The decorations consist of paintings and tapestries and statues depicting French monarchs and palaces. It is like one big shrine to the French kings. A view of the castle and surrounding gardens.

 

A quick stop at a small town for souvenirs and we are off to Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein is known for being Walt Disney’s inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Construction started in 1869, but it was never completed. The interior is decorated with scenes from Richard Wagner’s operas. At the time of Ludwig’s death in 1892 it was unfinished and has remained so ever since. We went at a time with really bad lighting for photos, but here are some of Neuschwanstein.

 

 

 

The tour bus thing worked out well. We didn’t have to worry about tickets or getting there, and if we had gone by ourselves we probably would have only seen one of the castles. On the other hand we would have gotten to stay and look around longer without the pressure of having to be back at a certain time. The castles were really cool and I think worth taking a day to go and see.