The Castles of Mad King Ludwig (Part 1)
If you've ever seen or purchased a jigsaw puzzle with a fairy tale castle in the centre, set against a backdrop of mountains and evergreen forest, the you will have seen Neuschwanstein Castle.
Neuschwanstein is the result of the obsessive, creative fantasies that seemed to dominate the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Born in 1845, Ludwig II became King of Bavaria when just 18 but following a disastrous war with Prussia just two years into his reign he became effectively a titular monarch. Without any significant role he seems to have retreated into a fantasy world becoming obsessed with the absolutist reign of the Louis XIV of France (the Sun King), fantasies of medieval chivalry and myth and legends. He was a patron of Richard Wagner.
With little interest in government, Ludwig poured his energies (and an enormous amount of money) into building castles. Neuschwanstein is his most famous castle attracting over 1 million visitors each year. We based ourselves in the nearby town of Füssen in preparation for a visit.
Füssen is an attractive little town, located on the River Lech, set against the backdrop of the Alps, and dominated by the Benedictine abbey of Saint Mang.
After settling into our quirky central hotel (headless mannequins lining the corridors to the rooms) we had a look around the old town. There must be a quota system for German towns when it comes to colourful old buildings and Füssen wasn't letting the side down. During our exploration we spotted a shop selling Schneeballen - balls of flavoured sweetened pastry, and decided to try one. There were many choices of flavour available - we plumped for cinnamon - and shared it from the brown paper bag. To be honest it wasn't that great, rather dry in the mouth and not particularly sweet.
We found our way to a riverside walk headed towards Lech Falls. These are not a natural feature, having been created in the 18th century. We reached a bridge over the falls located at a point where the Lech River enters a narrow gorge. Whilst not the most dramatic waterfall I've seen the river was a deep blue/green colour presumably as a result of glacial silt from the Alps.
An evening meal was taken eating tradition Bavarian food - and for me this meant trying a portion of German soft noodles called Spätzle, to accompany turkey steak in a mushroom sauce. It was tasty and filling. Nobody goes home hungry from a Bavarian restaurant!
In the morning we got away early in an attempt to beat the crowds. Admission to Neuschwanstein is by timed guided tour and we'd been told that by lunchtime all tours were booked for the day. Despite getting to the ticket office before 9.00am the earliest tour available for us was at 11.50 am. We therefore had ample time to make the 40 minute, solidly uphill climb to the castle and to a classic view from a bridge, Marienbrücke, alo built by Ludwig, a little further uphill, and recover before our tour.
The view from Marienbrücke was worth the climb. Neuschwanstein sits on a rocky tree clad outcrop, with the Bavarian plain behind stretching off into the distance.
Neuschwanstein was started in 1869 but was never completed. Ludwig ran out of money and building work effectively ceased in 1886. Within days Ludwig died in mysterious circumstances having been declared insane by his government ministers. who found it impossible to accommodate his fantasies and financial excesses.
Seen up close the castle is rather plain on the outside but from a distance it looks like every child's impression of a castle - all spires, towers and crenelations. It was used as a location in the film Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang.
Inside you get a sense of the obsessive nature of Ludwig II who commissioned massive colourful murals and interior deigns with mythical scenes. He had romanticised ideas of a long lost medieval world and a passion for the myths that inspired his favourite composer Richard Wagner. Visitors are not allowed to take photos during the tour but each room we visited went one step further in terms of lavish design. I have inserted a couple of photos of the interior from the tourist leaflet but these don't really capture the scale of the rooms.
The tour was over all too quickly and we made our way back downhill to continue our Bavarian travels. This would not be the last we'd see of King Ludwig though. He didn't stop at just one castle - and I'd planned to visit another of his fantastic creations later on our journey.
Neuschwanstein is the result of the obsessive, creative fantasies that seemed to dominate the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Born in 1845, Ludwig II became King of Bavaria when just 18 but following a disastrous war with Prussia just two years into his reign he became effectively a titular monarch. Without any significant role he seems to have retreated into a fantasy world becoming obsessed with the absolutist reign of the Louis XIV of France (the Sun King), fantasies of medieval chivalry and myth and legends. He was a patron of Richard Wagner.
With little interest in government, Ludwig poured his energies (and an enormous amount of money) into building castles. Neuschwanstein is his most famous castle attracting over 1 million visitors each year. We based ourselves in the nearby town of Füssen in preparation for a visit.
Füssen is an attractive little town, located on the River Lech, set against the backdrop of the Alps, and dominated by the Benedictine abbey of Saint Mang.
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| The Benedictine abbey of Saint Mang, Füssen |
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| Street scene, Füssen |
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| Schneeballen |
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| The Lech Falls |
An evening meal was taken eating tradition Bavarian food - and for me this meant trying a portion of German soft noodles called Spätzle, to accompany turkey steak in a mushroom sauce. It was tasty and filling. Nobody goes home hungry from a Bavarian restaurant!
In the morning we got away early in an attempt to beat the crowds. Admission to Neuschwanstein is by timed guided tour and we'd been told that by lunchtime all tours were booked for the day. Despite getting to the ticket office before 9.00am the earliest tour available for us was at 11.50 am. We therefore had ample time to make the 40 minute, solidly uphill climb to the castle and to a classic view from a bridge, Marienbrücke, alo built by Ludwig, a little further uphill, and recover before our tour.
The view from Marienbrücke was worth the climb. Neuschwanstein sits on a rocky tree clad outcrop, with the Bavarian plain behind stretching off into the distance.
Neuschwanstein was started in 1869 but was never completed. Ludwig ran out of money and building work effectively ceased in 1886. Within days Ludwig died in mysterious circumstances having been declared insane by his government ministers. who found it impossible to accommodate his fantasies and financial excesses.
Seen up close the castle is rather plain on the outside but from a distance it looks like every child's impression of a castle - all spires, towers and crenelations. It was used as a location in the film Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang.
Inside you get a sense of the obsessive nature of Ludwig II who commissioned massive colourful murals and interior deigns with mythical scenes. He had romanticised ideas of a long lost medieval world and a passion for the myths that inspired his favourite composer Richard Wagner. Visitors are not allowed to take photos during the tour but each room we visited went one step further in terms of lavish design. I have inserted a couple of photos of the interior from the tourist leaflet but these don't really capture the scale of the rooms.
The tour was over all too quickly and we made our way back downhill to continue our Bavarian travels. This would not be the last we'd see of King Ludwig though. He didn't stop at just one castle - and I'd planned to visit another of his fantastic creations later on our journey.
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