Neuschwanstein Castle - Schloss Neuschwanstein is located on the site of two old fortresses - front and rear Schwangau. This is one of the most famous castles of the 19th century. It stands 130 km from Munich, in a quiet location near a small lake and Swan Rock. The castle is also called “Swan Stone” partly because it and the lake once inspired the creation of the ballet “Swan Lake” by P.I. Tchaikovsky.
This castle was built by order of the Bavarian king Louis II. It was he who ordered to blow up the rock and lower the plateau at this place by approximately 8 meters, thereby creating a place for the construction of a “fairytale palace”. The design of the castle, including the landscape, its interior and architecture are the wishes and tastes of the king brought to life.
Ludwig of Bavaria, the visionary king, was considered the most tragic figure of the 19th century. He was called the German Hamlet. He became King of Bavaria at the age of 18. Insanity was a hereditary trait on my mother's side. For Ludwig, it was expressed in specific forms - he erected palaces, one of which is the “Swan Stone”.
It is known about the friendship of the Bavarian king with the composer R. Wagner. Louis II dedicated the construction of this palace to Wagner. Each hall is a hymn to Wagner's operas and the heroes of German legends. On the paintings you can see a hymn to Tristan and Isolde, on the frescoes there are illustrations to the legend of Tannhäuser, the large salon is a dedication to the knight with a swan - Lohengrin, and the study is an ode to Tannhäuser. The castle has a singing hall with unique acoustics. It was built specifically for the performance of Wagner's operas. However, ironically, it only became actually a concert performance at the end of the 20th century.
Due to a lack of funds, this castle was not completed, but what has survived to this day is unique.
Fate decreed that it was in this castle on Lake Starnberg that the romantic king met death - he either drowned or was drowned along with the psychiatrist accompanying him.
Now the castle is a museum. To visit it you need to go up to it by tourist bus, by car, on a horse-drawn carriage or on foot. The watchman is the only person who currently “lives” in the palace and is its guardian.
Neuschwanstein Castle is more reminiscent of a fairy-tale structure in which every princess would like to live. The tall towers surrounded by forests, located on an Alpine hill, instantly attract the eye, but the way the museum is decorated inside is impossible to describe in words. Many cultural figures come here specifically to be inspired to create their next masterpiece.
Basic information about Neuschwanstein Castle
The fairytale palace is located in Germany. Its name is literally translated as “New Swan Stone”. This lyrical name was given to the building by the Bavarian king, who dreamed of building a romantic castle for his residence. The architectural structure is located on a rocky area, which is reflected in the name.
For those who want to visit this unique place, it is worth knowing where Neuschwanstein is. The attraction does not have an exact address, since it is located some distance from large populated areas, but trains and buses go to the museum, and any local resident will give detailed instructions on how to get from the city of Munich to the town of Fussen in Bavaria. You can also get to the castle by rented car using the coordinates in the navigator: 47.5575°, 10.75°. 
The opening hours of the romantic palace depend on the season. From April to September you can get inside from 8:00 to 17:00; in other months, entry is allowed from 9:00 to 15:00. In winter in December, do not forget about the Christmas holidays; the museum is closed at this time. The castle is officially closed four days a year: on Christmas Day on December 24 and 25, and on New Year's Day on December 31 and January 1.
Neuschwanstein Castle is made in the neo-Gothic style. Christian Jank worked on the project, but not a single decision was made without the approval of Ludwig of Bavaria, since only the ideas of the king who started this difficult construction were implemented. As a result, the structure is 135 meters long and rises 65 meters from the base.
The history of Neuschwanstein Castle
It is no secret to anyone in Germany which ruler built the famous palace in Bavaria, since in fact this project took possession of the ruler for many years. The beginning was made on September 5, 1869. Before that, on the site of the future “romantic nest” there were ruins of old fortresses. Ludwig II gave the order to blow up the plateau to lower it eight meters and create an ideal site for the castle. First they built a road to the construction site, then they built a pipeline. 
Work on the project was entrusted to Eduard Riedel, and Christian Jank was appointed as the master. Each drawing was created from the king’s descriptions, after which it was approved by him. During the first four years, a majestic gate was erected, and the royal chambers on the third floor were prepared. The second floor was almost completely equipped for comfortable living in the residence.
Further construction was carried out at an even more accelerated pace, since Ludwig II dreamed of settling in Neuschwanstein Castle as soon as possible, but it was not completed in ten years. As a result, in 1884 the king could not stand it and decided to move into the palace, regardless of the fact that work was still ongoing. In fact, the creator of this architectural creation lived in it for only 172 days, and the last details of finishing the castle were completed after his death.
Exterior and interior features
Most of the castle is made of marble. It was specially brought from Salzburg. The portal and bay window are made of sandstone. The external design fully complies with the laws of neo-Gothic, and the castles of Hohenschwangau and Wartburg were taken as prototypes for the creation of the palace. 
From the inside, the creation of Ludwig of Bavaria cannot but impress, because luxury reigns everywhere here. The key hall is considered to be the singers' hall, repeating the performance of the Wartburg's Festive and Song Halls. One gets the impression that the entire Neuschwanstein Castle was built surrounded by this room. Canvases illustrating the legend of Parzival were used as decoration.
Despite its purpose, the room was never used during the king's lifetime. For the first time a concert took place there 50 years after the death of Richard Wagner. From 1933 to 1939, events were regularly held in the singers' hall, but due to the war and until 1969, the room was empty again. 
It is impossible not to note the most beautiful throne room, which was never fully completed. Religious motives were used during its construction. The throne is installed in a special niche reminiscent of a basilica, which speaks of the king’s connection with God. All the surrounding decoration depicts saints. The mosaic floor is made in the form of a sky with representatives of flora and fauna depicted on it. 
The close friendship of Ludwig II and Richard Wagner is clearly visible in the interior of the entire Neuschwanstein Castle. A huge number of pictures depict scenes from the operas of the German composer. There are messages from the king to Wagner in which he describes his future project and tells his friend that one day he will live in this fabulous place. Another feature of the decoration is the use of swans, which became the main idea for the construction of a romantic palace. The bird is considered a symbol of the family of the Counts of Schwangau, whose descendant was Ludwig II. 
During World War II, all the valuables of the Reich were kept in a fairy-tale palace. Hitler's personal collection, consisting of jewelry, works of art, furniture, was placed throughout the halls, but later everything was taken to an unknown destination. There are rumors that most of the valuables were sunk in Lake Alat, so today you can no longer see these beauties in the photo inside the castle.
The castle has not only amazing architecture and interior decoration, but also an interesting history. True, not all of the king’s ideas were brought to life due to a lack of funds for construction. During the construction of Neuschwanstein, the budget was exceeded by more than twice, so the king left a huge debt after his death. It was important to creditors who the heir to this creation was, since the amount of debt amounted to several million marks. 
In the fall of 1886, Neuschwanstein Castle was opened for paid visits, which made it possible to complete construction and almost completely cover the accumulated debt within a decade. As a result, among the unimplemented ideas remained:
- knight's hall;
- a 90-meter high tower with a church;
- park with a fountain and terraces.
Currently, the Swan Palace is one of the main attractions in Germany. It is also worth mentioning what this museum is famous for, in addition to its amazing history. Firstly, according to stories, Tchaikovsky was inspired to create “Swan Lake” after visiting this romantic place.
Secondly, you can see the castle on a 2 euro coin issued specifically for collectors. It appeared in 2012 as part of the “German Federal States” series. The color image of the palace emphasizes the spirit of romanticism inherent in this building. 
Thirdly, the report often mentions that Neuschwanstein Castle became the basis for the creation of the Sleeping Beauty Palace in the famous Disney park in Paris. It is not surprising that the architectural monument is often used for filming in films or as a location for video games. 
The castle in southern Germany is rightfully considered a key attraction of the country, because its beauty attracts thousands of tourists for good reason. “The Swan’s Nest” became famous throughout the world, and to this day the story of its creation is retold and acquired with new legends.
The fairy-tale images created by Walt Disney not only delight and educate our children, but also transport adults to a wonderful time of fantasy and incredible possibilities. The image of the pointed turrets of the castle begins the countdown before the start of the journey to a world where evil will always be defeated by good, where princesses and fearless knights live, where love and friendship conquer all earthly vices.
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The castle built at Disneyland Paris for Sleeping Beauty became the prototype for the initial logo of the Disney company. And now it’s no longer a secret that the magical “house” for Beauty in the amusement park was a huge model of Neuschwanstein - a Bavarian castle hidden in the Alps. Another interesting castle in Germany that deserves attention is Burg Eltz Castle.
The Bavarian monarch Ludwig II, who ascended the throne in 1864, is affectionately called the “fairy-tale king” by the Bavarians themselves, and to this day he is recognized as the most mysterious historical figure of these lands. His whole life and even his mysterious death was accompanied by legends and speculation. And the main reason for this was the deep loneliness of the king, which year after year he enjoyed with greater intensity.
Before starting a conversation about any of the castles built by Ludwig II, each guide certainly turns to the life history of the Bavarian king: to his childhood and adolescence, the time of his reign, and, of course, his overthrow and mysterious death.
The family estate of the Wittelsbach family, a feudal dynasty of medieval knights, was located on the shores of the beautiful Schwansee Lake (“Swan Lake”) near the town of Füssen. This is a south-eastern Bavarian state bordering Austria, along which the historical road of the Roman conquerors "Romantische Strasse" (Romantic Road) passed. The Great Migration of the times of Claudius Augustus left many towns and castles along this route, reminiscent of the exploits and merits of medieval knights.
Hohenschwangau Castle, which existed until the 12th century, was raised from ruins by Ludwig's father Maximilian II. Here, in the summer residence of the Wittelsbachs, the young scion of a feudal family spent his childhood and adolescence. The entire interior of the castle, including the wall tapestries, was imbued with romantic scenes from medieval legends about Lohengrin - the Swan Knight, Tannhäuser, Parsifal and Richard the Lionheart. The boy, imagining himself as a participant in fairy tales, and most of all inspired by the image of Lohengrin, grew up dreamy, impressionable, trying to isolate himself from the realities of reality.
A connoisseur of nature, music and poetry, he also had great architectural talent. This passion for construction was impressively realized during his reign over the country. And the goal of his whole life was to translate his fantasies into real architectural designs. And there were many plans. Ludwig II wanted to build several castles that would embody the sophistication of the era of chivalry and romanticism. But he managed to bring to life only three - Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee and Neuschwanstein. The construction of the latter was completed after the death of the monarch. But this did not stop Neuschwanstein from becoming the most popular castle to visit in all of Bavaria.
How to get there
Acquaintance with the castle begins from afar, even at the entrance to the village of Hohenschwangau, where all the cars and tourist buses are parked. From here you can see a “postcard” view of the fabulous structure perched on the top of the mountain. In contrast to European castles, which were built as defensive structures to demonstrate strength and power, Neuschwanstein looks like a doll's palace for a fairy-tale character, demonstrating a clear distance from real life.
But the reality is thousands of tourists trying to get inside the castle, and a terminal at the foot of the mountain that allows you to purchase a “pass” to this fairy tale. A ticket is a visitor’s registration and reservation of a place in an excursion group, indicating the start time. You can get to the castle on foot (about an hour), on a special bus, or on a stylized ancient horse-drawn carriage with a colorful Bavarian coachman. Many choose the latter option, thereby getting the opportunity to admire unforgettable landscapes and feel the atmosphere of fabulousness in advance.
The observation deck at the foot of the castle allows you to see all the details of the surrounding landscape. And he is impressive! On one side, the Alpine peaks are reflected in the crystal waters of the Alpsee. To the right lies a lush green valley with a white church in the village of Schwangau, and on the left side, behind the checkerboard profile of Hohenschwangau Castle, you can see the small lake Schwansee.
Despite its unimpressive size, it was the landscape that inspired Tchaikovsky to create his elegant “Swan Lake.” Of course, the composer’s creative flight was born not only from the mesmerizing Bavarian landscapes. The birth of images and magical music directly related to Wagner's opera and the legend of the swan knight Lohengrin.
When talking about Neuschwanstein, one cannot fail to mention the special attitude of King Ludwig II towards the German composer. As a sixteen-year-old boy, the king was fascinated by Wagner's music at the premiere of the opera Lohengrin. All his inspired fantasies were embodied on that stage, and a few years later the king met the great composer. All his life, the “fairytale king” was a philanthropist and patron of the musician. He dreamed that Wagner would write his future creations in Neuschwanstein's Swan Castle.
Construction
The construction of Neuschwanstein (“New Swan Cliff”) was determined on the site where two Schwangau fortresses, already destroyed by time, were previously located. The artificial explosion of the rock made it possible to create a site for future construction. A road and a pipeline were built to the top of the mountain, after which construction began immediately, in 1869, the pace of which surprised the entire area.
It must be said that, being an ardent supporter of all the innovations of technical progress of that time, Ludwig II sought to apply them in the implementation of his projects. To facilitate the transportation of goods and building materials at the construction site, steam cranes and locomotives were used. The latest technological advances were also used inside the architectural masterpiece: plumbing, central heating and a telephone system.
The creators of the project, architect Eduard Riedel and set designer Christian Jank, presented the king with more than 60 sketches. And since the idea itself was entirely dedicated to Wagner, the inspiration of the creators was based on the impressions of the Wartburg Castle, located in the Thuringian Forest, where the legendary “Singing Competitions” were held in the 11th century. According to the project, which, unfortunately, was not allowed to be fully realized, the castle ensemble included a palace, women's quarters, a donjon, a knight's house and an access gate.
Architecture
The entrance gate, topped with the Bavarian coat of arms, greets visitors to the castle with the vibrant colors of red brick and yellow sandstone. From the territory of the courtyard, framed by two terraces, a journey through the interiors of the castle begins. The guides with great love, even with some servility, talk about every corner of the buildings where they can take visitors.
Almost everything is surprising: the plans of the project, the location, the purpose of certain rooms and interior items. The compositions of the facades, the interior decoration of the rooms and the “surprises” of the interiors, thought out to the smallest detail, create the impression that a theatrical action can unfold here at any moment. In Neuschwanschein, the basic rule of plot intrigue is obviously observed: with every step the interest increases.
There are many architectural and interior “surprises” that capture the imagination of visitors. By 1886, out of the 80 rooms in the castle planned by the king, only 15 were completed. Most of them are very intimate. The chambers are designed for only one person - Ludwig himself. The carpet paintings covering the walls of each room reveal various scenes from medieval legends and, of course, Wagner's operas.
Hall of Singers
Returning to the favorite of Ludwig II, Vanger, it must be said that the main hall, which was destined for a grandiose musical perspective with theatrical performances and singing competitions, became the Hall of Singers. The massive trapezoidal oak ceiling covering the hall not only makes a strong impression with its shape and decor, but also serves as an excellent resonator for sound, creating wonderful acoustics. The conventional small stage is always ready to unfold the action and fill the hall with music connoisseurs. But, sadly, Wagner, to whom the creation of this Hall was dedicated, was never here.
The journey through the castle takes place sequentially through all the living quarters of the palace, in which the Bavarian monarch managed to live for just over five months. And here, surprises await visitors amazed by the decoration.
Library
Moving through the salon - library, the design of which is entirely dedicated to Parsifal and Lohengrin, the guide stops his attention on a small door decorated with carvings. The surprise that opens behind the oak doors leaves everyone in delight and amazement. There is a grotto here. A skillfully created cave with a swimming pool and lighting is a place where the king unites with nature. According to the project, the grotto is a through room. From it the monarch could get into his office, where the surroundings again corresponded to the general style of the castle.
.I propose to finish examining these
castles, probably the most famous and, in my opinion, the most beautiful and spectacular castle. Who hasn’t seen his silhouette on utensils and computer desktops?Be sure to pick up something for your desktop :-)
Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein Castle was opened to the public. The modest king had built the castle in the hope of hiding from public life, and now crowds of people came to see his refuge.
Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most famous castles and palaces in Europe. Every year, about 1.2 million tourists come to see the “castle of the fairy-tale king.” During the summer, around 6,000 visitors a day stream through the halls that were once reserved for just one resident.
It would be difficult to think of a more suitable place for the location of the castle, however, movements in the area of the castle foundation must be constantly monitored, and the steep rocky walls must be periodically strengthened. The harsh climate also causes damage to the limestone façades, which need to be restored piece by piece over the next few years.
Neuschwanstein Castle (German) Schloss Neuschwanstein, literally: "New Swan Rock") is a 19th-century castle near the town of Füssen and Hohenschwangau Castle in southwestern Bavaria, near the Austrian border.
As we already know, Ludwig II began the construction of three palaces - Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee And Linderhof, however, only Linderhof was completed during his lifetime. It is worth noting that Neuschwanstein is called a “castle” in vain; in fact, it never was, since it never had defensive significance. Neuschwanstein is a whim of the king, who was passionate about the music of Wagner and built this castle-palace for his favorite composer in the spirit of his works, for which the castle serves as a kind of illustration or theatrical stage.
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“I decided to rebuild the old castle. Its architectural style will reproduce the original German knightly castles. Its location is one of the most beautiful that can be found. The castle will be sacred and impregnable. The singing hall, which offers a general view of the castle, will remind you of the Tannhäuser saga, and the courtyard and chapel will remind you of the song of Lohengrin. This structure will be more magnificent than the lower castle of Hohenschwangau. Here we will feel the divine breath of heaven,” King Ludwig II of Bavaria wrote to Richard Wagner about the idea of building Neuschwanstein.
Ludwig II decided to build his first castle in his native place since childhood, on the top of a cliff next to Hohenschwangau. In total, there were four fortresses in this territory that protected the road to Tyrol. The best preserved of these is Schwanstein Castle, which was rebuilt by Maximilian II in Hohenschwangau. Further west were the ruins of Frauenstein, which Maximilian decided to keep intact as a monument. Two more castles - Vorderhohenschwangau and Hinderhohenschwangau - remained in ruins to the east of Hohenschwangau. Ludwig called this place “the rock of youth.” Initially, Ludwig planned a typical 19th-century restoration of both castles in the 12th-13th century style, based on the experience of Hohenschwangau. The first sketches of New Schwangau differed significantly from the final version of the castle. The projects involved combining two castles into a single ensemble. In this case, Vorderschwangau became the main tower of the castle, and Hinterschwangau was transformed into the main building. However, a number of circumstances changed the original idea.
Ludwig II
Ludwig II invites an architect to create a project for the future castle Eduard Riedel, who had previously rebuilt Berg Castle for Ludwig's father. A theater artist is also involved in developing the appearance of Neuschwanstein Christian Yank, which embodies Riedel’s ideas in pictorial and graphic form to provide the customer with the most complete impression of the project. Janck was considered an expert on medieval fortresses, after he created a “fortress on the Rhine” decoration, made in a romantic key, for the ball of the Jung-Munich Artistic Union. To create the Neuschwanstein plan, Riedel and Janck, as well as Ludwig, went to the Wartburg for inspiration. Yank provided several sketches of the future castle. the first of them demonstrated a desire for fanatical and Gothic forms, but after the king's editing they acquired calmer Romanesque outlines.
Work on the future architectural masterpiece began in the summer of 1868. In order to lay the foundation, it was necessary to blow up about eight meters of rock. In June 1869, the construction of the access road was completed. The first stone was laid on September 5, 1869, along with a construction plan, portraits of King Ludwig II and coins from his reign.
The most modern technologies of that time were used in the construction of the castle. Advanced technology was used in the construction. For example, to facilitate the transportation of materials to the construction site, a steam crane was built in the western part of the site. For the same purposes, locomotives were used - mobile steam engines, prototypes of cars. The “Bavarian Audit Commission for Steam Boilers” was responsible for them. In addition, the latest technological achievements were installed in the building itself, being invisible to the viewer. Among them are running water on every floor, central steam heating, electrical telephone system, etc. All this functioned during the life of Ludwig II, and ensured a comfortable stay for the king in the castle.
It is difficult to imagine what problems had to be faced then and how much building material was required. The cement manufacturer alone, Jacob Lang from Schongau, supplied no less than 9,000 quintals of cement in 1872. In the same year, the Unhokh company supplied 184,500 liters of lime. For 1879/80 there are statistics on the use of building materials: 9,300 quintals of marble from Salzburg, 91,000 quintals of Nurting sandstone, 400,000 bricks, 3,600 cubic meters of sand, 12,000 quintals of cement, 1,000 quintals of charcoal, 2,050 cubic meters of boards (for scaffolding). The sandstone for the portal and bay window was brought from Nürtingen in the state of Württemberg. Marble from near Salzburg was used for windows, vault projections, columns and capitals. A huge amount of building material was lifted from the western side of the building in trolleys using a steam-powered crane. They were delivered and installed in the right place using a special lifting block system. Construction machines were already then annually checked for safety and reliability by the “Bavarian Steam Boiler Inspection Commission”, from which today’s Technical Supervision Association (TUV) emerged. In 1880, 209 carpenters, masons and auxiliary workers were employed at the construction site.
After the death of the king (in 1886), all construction work was suspended. The third floor of the castle and the knight's quarters were not completed. The main tower of the castle with the church, 90 m high, which should have towered above all the buildings, was not built at all. The western terrace, which should have led to the unfinished bathhouse, was also not completed.
When the first stone was laid in the foundation of the castle, the kingdom of Bavaria had already lost its sovereignty, and the imagination of the young king found solace for his wounded pride in visions of a fantastic new kingdom, where Ludwig was one hundred percent sovereign. The dream castle was built as the embodiment of the monarch’s dreams, so even the Munich theater artist Christian Jank was appointed as the chief architect.
The king, with youthful passion, devoted himself entirely to construction. Despite this, the construction of the castle did not progress at the same speed as the Bavarian dreamer had imagined. The fact is that building such a complex structure in architectural and communication terms in a mountainous alpine area was a very difficult task. People worked day and night, but still could not keep up with the flight of fancy of the ruler, who, moreover, constantly revised the project to please the visions that visited him again. As a result, for example, a rather modest reception room turned into a pompous Throne Hall.
Completely immersed in the world of his sweet dreams, Ludwig increasingly lost touch with reality. The leadership of the Bavarian lands was left to chance, the king increasingly committed rash and inexplicable, from the point of view of common sense, actions, which ultimately led to natural and disastrous consequences for the sovereign. In 1886, after a psychiatric examination, the king was declared insane. Soon, under mysterious circumstances, while boating in Lake Starnberg, the deposed monarch, along with the psychiatrist who concluded his incompetence, drowned. As they say, ends in the water.
The construction of Neuschwanstein was in full swing at that time. The craftsmen began the construction of the donjon - the main castle tower. After the death of Ludwig, the construction of the century was hastily curtailed, and seven weeks after his death, the castle was open to the public. However, sluggish construction continued almost until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1891, the grandiose romantic project was finally declared completed and immediately acquired the status of a national treasure.
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Neuschwanstein Castle is a symbiosis of three different, in terms of use, parts: this is the central structure of the castle - the Palace and the wings extending from it. The left one is called the Kemenate Building (entrance to the castle), the right one is the House of Knights. The interior decoration of the grandiose building is made in an incredible mixture and variety of styles belonging to different eras. Moorish, Gothic and, at the same time, Baroque elements coexist in the rooms, but, oddly enough, there is no feeling of a tasteless eclectic hodgepodge. Perhaps, even aesthetic admiration is caused by the columns-stalactites of the artificial grotto, inscribed in the overall architecture of the building, the decadent decor of the Byzantine style of the Throne Hall, in which the throne was never installed, the exquisite and at the same time quite powerful lighting of the singing hall - a kind of castle theater dedicated to the performance of Wagner's romantic works. In total, the castle has about 360 rooms and halls, but since the construction was never completed in full, final finishing was carried out only in some of them.
The interior decoration of the already mentioned Singers' Hall is striking, the walls of which are decorated with frescoes based on the opera "Tannhäuser" by the favorite composer Ludwig II - Wagner. The central, largest fresco immortalized the knight Parsifal at the moment when he first saw the Holy Grail. The luxurious patterned ceiling of the hall is decorated with wooden panels with images of the Zodiac signs on them. The ceiling, walls, and the Singing Arcade of the building are also decorated with rich ornamental paintings. Currently, classical music concerts are held in the Singers' Hall. This hall occupies the entire fourth floor of the five-story Palace.
Directly below it, on the third floor, was an artificial inclusion of man-made wildlife, which should have been surprising to visitors - a cave with stalactites and stalagmites located inside the castle. Initially, to enliven the interior and give it a greater resemblance to nature, a real cascade of water flowed here. Nowadays, the water supply system is either broken or turned off; there are no more fountains or waterfalls in the grotto.
Another room on the third floor that leaves a rich impression on tourists is the king’s bedroom and personal chapel. Both of them are made in the Gothic style, and the bedroom contains perhaps the most important attraction of the castle - the carved bed of the owner of the apartment. In order to imagine its luxury and the splendor of patterned painting, it is enough to say that 14 woodcarvers worked tirelessly on the production of this structure for 4.5 years. The bedroom walls are hung with paintings on the life of Tristan and Isolde - the legendary lovers from medieval European legends. There is also an opera of the same name by Richard Wagner, which at one time made a great impression on the romantic soul of Ludwig.
The king's personal chapel is adjacent to his bedroom. It is dedicated to the owner's guardian angel - the canonized French king Louis the Saint, in whose honor the Bavarian monarch was named. Noteworthy is the richly decorated folded altar embedded in the painted pointed vault.
The throne room of Neuschwanstein was designed by the architects Eduard Ille and Julius Hoffmann in the style of Byzantine opulence. Long rows of columns run across the entire two-tiered hall with decorations made of imitation porphyry and lapis lazuli. The room ends with a semicircular gilded apse - the location of the royal throne. Nine marble steps lead to the foot of the platform, on which the throne, decorated with gold and ivory, would have been located. History decreed otherwise - the monarch died before the symbol of power was made and installed in its intended place.
The dome of the apse is decorated with paintings on theological themes. Here Jesus Christ is depicted surrounded by the Mother of God Mary and the Apostle John, and below are the figures of kings canonized, among whom is the already mentioned heavenly patron of Ludwig, Louis of France. The interior is complemented by a majestic chandelier made in the form of a Byzantine crown. The chandelier is made of gilded copper, designed for 96 candles and weighs almost 2 tons - 18 centners.
Another completely completed building of the castle was the royal kitchen located on the ground floor. Despite the stylization of the Middle Ages, the castle was engineered with the latest technology of the 19th century. Excellent water supply and drainage systems were installed here, and the air heating system was advanced for its time. Water for the castle's needs was delivered from a source located two hundred meters above, and entered the premises, as in the famous fountains of Petrodvorets, by gravity, using the principle of communicating vessels. Returning to the kitchen, it should be noted that water was not simply supplied here, but was divided into cold and hot. The kitchen is equipped not only with stoves, ovens and braziers for cooking, but also with a specially designed mechanism, the function of which was to serve prepared dishes to the royal dining room, so as not to distract His Majesty from sublime thoughts with the flurry of servants. The dining room itself is decorated with oak panels; paintings by artists Ferdinand Riloti and Joseph Aigner are hung on the walls, depicting scenes from the legendary Minnesingers singing competition in the Wartburg in 1207.
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The architects of Neuschwanstein superbly succeeded in fulfilling one of the cornerstone tasks of architecture - to tie the structure to the surrounding area, to fit a free-standing castle into the nature of upper Bavaria. Perched on a lonely cliff with steep sides, Neuschwanstein looks like what it should look like - an impregnable medieval fortification. The windows of the castle offer an incredibly picturesque view of the Hohenschwangau valley, which Ludwig planned to improve by building another pseudo-ancient castle higher in the mountains, the purpose of which was to make the view from Neuschwanstein even more picturesque. Unfortunately, these plans were not destined to come true.
The castle courtyard is a magnificent park of local vegetation, where there is even an artificial cave for the amusement of guests.
Neuschwanstein became a public destination and tourist attraction in Bavaria as early as the 19th century. Since then, the flow of tourists into the building, intended by the customer for solitary dreams and escape from the realities of the world, has been increasing year by year. More than 1.3 million tourists visit the castle every year. According to this indicator, the Swan Stone is second only to the Paris Eiffel Tower. The influx of visitors is especially high in the summer, when about 6,000 visitors a day pass through the bedroom of a single dreamer.
Its inaccessibility and secluded location made Neuschwanstein attractive for utilitarian use by Nazi Germany. Here at the end of the Second World War the gold reserves of the Reichsbank were located, which later disappeared in an unknown direction. It also housed a personal collection of jewelry, works of art and furniture selected by Adolf Hitler from the total mass of valuables taken by the invaders from Europe.
It is interesting that it was the appearance of Neuschwanstein that inspired Walt Disney to create the residence of “Sleeping Beauty” - the Fairytale Kingdom from the cartoon of the same name. Therefore, the appearance of the most famous castle in Bavaria is well known even to the smallest Russians who have never been to the lands of Germany - the central image of the Disney Hour screensaver on our television is Neuschwanstein.
The German government is attentive to the current state of the national heritage. At the end of the 20th century, over 11 million euros were spent from the state budget on large-scale reconstruction. Restoration work, by the way, has not stopped to this day - tourists regularly view one or another part of the castle in the scaffolding. But this, of course, cannot spoil anyone’s impressions of visiting the most significant attraction of these places - Neuschwanstein Castle.
Currently the castle is a museum. A visit is only possible as part of a group (automatic audio guides are provided in various languages, including Russian). To visit the castle, you need to buy a ticket at the ticket center (the desired time can be agreed upon on the center’s website) and go up to the castle by bus, on foot or by horse-drawn carriage. The only person who “lives” in the castle at the moment and is its custodian is the watchman.
“I want to remain in people’s memory as an eternal secret...” the king said, and so it happened,
After his mysterious death, people made up legends. And now there is no complete information about death
king, it is known that two bodies were found on the river bank - the king and his attending physician.
Prince Ludwig was born on the day that Louis IX, King of France, founder of the House of Bourbon, ascended the throne. Ludwig II's godfather was Louis XVI, a friendship that lasted throughout the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. When the prince was 16 years old, an event occurred in his life that determined his fate; in 1861, he attended Wagner's opera Lohengrin. Wagner's music shocked him, and from then on he became a passionate admirer of Wagner and a collector of his works. After his coronation, he arranged a meeting with Wagner. In Munich they did not like Wagner for his revolutionary past and, under pressure from the people, Ludwig was forced to ask Wagner to leave Munich, but their friendship did not end there.
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In 1869, Ludwig laid the first stone on the site of an ancient fortress on the slopes of the Alps. The Bavarian Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the form of a medieval castle with a fortress wall, towers and passages and looked very beautiful against the backdrop of the park. Its construction took 17 years, but was never completed. By a cruel twist of fate, it was in this romantic castle that Ludwig II suffered the greatest humiliation of his life. In 1886, he suffered a huge disappointment in his life - the war with Prussia did not bring the desired results, but only huge losses and debts.
Unbridled construction and the funds spent on it did not contribute to the popularity of the once adored monarch. He pumped his own annual income of 5.5 million marks into his projects and dug deep into the state's pockets. At the time of Ludwig's death, his debt to the state amounted to 21 million marks. The country's wealth, acquired over 800 years by many generations of Bavarian monarchs, was wasted in just 20 years.
As a result of the conspiracy, Ludwig was declared incompetent, and power passed to his uncle Lutpold. The king himself refused to admit his incompetence, based on the fact that the doctor who made such a conclusion was never his attending physician. Ludwig II was taken to Berg Palace, where the next day he was found dead on Lake Starnberg under mysterious circumstances, along with the attending physician, who concluded that he was incapacitated.
In the most beautiful corner of the Bavarian Alps, on a high hill overgrown with dark green spruce trees, it rises majestically. Its slender silhouette with pointed, “toy” towers resembles a picture from a fairy tale.
Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany): facts
Its creator, Ludwig II, embodied his fantasies and dreams in the castle. Since childhood, the future king was fond of medieval legends about knights and ancient German sagas, and from the age of 16 he became a passionate admirer of the work of Richard Wagner.
Having ascended the throne, Ludwig II made Wagner his favorite, placed a luxurious country villa at the disposal of the composer and, impressed by his operas, decided to build. 
Neuschwanstein Castle: The Legend of the Swan
Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany) was erected in 1869-1886 in the style of a knight's fortress. It is no coincidence that the king appointed theater artist Christian Janka as the architect and director of works. First of all, Ludwig II sought architectural beauty. The name of Neuschwanstein Castle - “New Swan Stone” - is associated with the opera “Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner, written based on the legend of the Swan Knight.
Tradition says that one day in the Duchy of Brabant the ruler died without an heir. The Duke's daughter Elsa fears that the kingdom will be lost, but suddenly a knight appears on a boat drawn by a swan. He marries Duchess Elsa, promises to protect and love her, and in return asks only one thing - his beloved should never ask about his origin. For many years the Swan Knight rules Brabant, but one day the duchess asks a forbidden question. Here a swan immediately appears to the knight and takes him to the unknown lands from which he once came. The monarch decorated his entire castle with swans. They are everywhere - in the form of vases and wall paintings, embroidered in gold on curtains, carved on the facade and carved on wooden paneling. The swan also became a symbol of the castle because it was depicted on the coat of arms of the family of the Counts of Schwangau, from which Ludwig II came.
Throne room
Neuschwanstein Castle consists of more than 360 rooms, and each of them is dedicated to Wagner's heroes. The most impressive room is, of course, the Throne Room, decorated in Byzantine style. In it, the king wanted to embody the “Hall of the Holy Grail” from Wagner’s drama “Parsifal”. The huge room with high ceilings is supported by two rows of columns.
The lower row of purple columns is finished in porphyry, and the upper row is made of artificial lapis lazuli. The steps of a marble staircase, framed by images of the 12 apostles, lead to a niche where the royal throne, decorated with a cross and the coat of arms of Bavaria, would have stood. But the throne was never made. The paintings on the walls illustrate early Christian scenes. Suspended at the gallery level with a second tier of columns is a huge gilded chandelier in the shape of a Byzantine crown. The mosaic floor depicts stylized flora and fauna.
Singing hall
The singing hall was intended for performances of Wagner's operas. During the life of Ludwig II, not a single concert was given in the Singing Hall, but today a classical music festival is held here every year. This is the largest and most luxuriously decorated hall with numerous paintings and tapestries dedicated to the knight Parzival. Parzival is the hero of a medieval legend and one of Wagner’s operas, who has gone from a naive young man who does not know life to the king of the Grail. The largest, central painting in the Singing Hall depicts the climax of the legend, when Parzival first enters the Grail Castle.
Neuschwanstein Castle: royal chambers
Carved oak panels, solid wooden furniture and silk-embroidered drapes (curtains) are present in all the rooms that make up the royal chambers - the bedroom, chapel, dining room, living room, study. The royal bedchamber, made in the neo-Gothic style, is very noteworthy. It abounds in carved decorations and ornaments, the production of which was carried out by 14 craftsmen for 4.5 years. On the walls hang paintings telling the story of the tragic love of Tristan and Isolde. The design of the living room is permeated by a swan motif, its interior is subordinated to a single concept - the legend of the Swan Knight. 
