Neuschwanstein castle was one of "Mad" King Ludwig's dream castles and the one that is the most famous with tourists. This castle wasn't built for defensive purposes (the field artillery of the 1870's would have rendered it a pile of rubble in no time). Instead, it was inspired by the romantic period. That is, Ludwig (II) wanted to have his dream home nestled near an "enchanted" forest and a scenic lake. Fortunately, he knew a good place, up the mountain from the castle he grew up in. Having the royal coffers of Bavaria at his disposal, he had a painter design his dream home. Then, he had it built (causing Bavaria to go near bankrupt!)
Neuschwanstein was never finished. Due to Ludwig's reclusiveness (i.e. hiding from nobility and associating with artists), and lack of monetary control (almost bankrupting Bavaria), King Ludwig was deemed unfit to rule Bavaria. Consequently, Ludwig was removed from and exiled to Neuschwanstein. He died 3 days latter in a mysterious drowning accident in Forggen See.
I'll admit that I went to be to Neuschwanstein to be a tourist. I wanted to see this dream castle for myself since I have a thing for castles. However, what I did not know when I visited is that there an alpine lake with scenic mountains as the backdrop near by. I fell in love with this lake (called Alp See) at first sight. There is also light hiking do to through the forested hills around Neuschwanstein.
What I also didn't know was that is that Hohenschwargau castle, Mad king Ludwig's boyhood home, was right next to Neuschwanstein. Hohenschwargau was originally built in the 12th century (for defensive purposes) and it lasted until Napoleon's troops destroyed it (my guide book doesn't say why or how). With the advent of the romantic period Ludwig's father, Maximilian, wanted a hunting lodge that was close to nature. Maximilian came upon the ruins of Hohenschwargau castle and rebuilt it for his family to "retreat to".
I guess I should put in mention of the romantic period here. During the Romantic period, people wanted to get close to nature. It was the first time that people started to appreciate nature as something beautiful and not as something that was in the way. AS you can see, this affected both King Kudwig and his father. Therefore, with the romantic period, resorts such as Interlaken (Switzerland) and Charmonix (France) became popular. The romantic period also affected other rulers such as Prince Ferdnan of Portugal who built the famous Pena Palace.
I hope you enjoy the photos. Any comments, please E-mail me, .
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| Hohenschwangau Castle | |||
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| Hohenschwangau Town and Alp See | |||
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All photos by John L. Polos
Copyright May 30, 2008
