Born in Nymphenburg Palace—the “Castle of the Nymphs”—in Munich, Bavaria, and growing up in the Gothic Revival fantasy castle of Hohenschwangau in the Bavarian Alps, is it any wonder that the creator of Neuschwanstein Castle—King Ludwig II—was prone to day-dreaming?
All around him was picture perfect scenery—glistening lakes, snow-capped mountains, and deep alpine forests.
![Hohenschwangau Castle. Credit xlibber,flickr](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/35988209503_be7a6728d0_b.jpg)
And he was immersed in a medieval tribute to Bavarian heraldry—particularly the legend of the Knight of the Swan.
![Hohenschwangau Castle. Credit Sailko](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4360/36751201006_2f987792dd_b.jpg)
The swan looms large in Bavarian folklore. Hohenschwangau means “Upper Swan District”.
Celebrated in the medieval German romance “Parzival” and later in the operas Lohengrin and Parsifal by Richard Wagner, the Knight of the Swan is a medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a swan-drawn boat to defend a damsel, his only condition being that he must never be asked his name.
![Lohengrin rescues a damsel in distress](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53399649626_4316129340_o.jpg)
This was the stuff to set a young man’s imagination alight and to dare to dream of building the most beautiful castle in the world—Neuschwanstein.
![Castle Neuschwanstein against the Bavarian Alps, Germany. Derivative works based on photo by Dmytro Balkhovitin](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4340/35988735773_08a9fe4099_o.jpg)
All it would take was money and time.
Join us as we explore the beauty and history of Neuschwanstein Castle.
Press play button to add musical atmosphere to your journey.
Our story begins in 1864 when the 18-year-old Ludwig II succeeded his father, King Maximilian II, to the throne of Bavaria.
Ludwig did what all kings do and set about planning an ambitious series of palaces and castles.
But Ludwig was different. He was a dreamer with a big imagination.
The inspiration for the construction of Neuschwanstein came from two journeys he took in 1867 — one in May to the reconstructed Wartburg Castle in Germany, another in July to the Château de Pierrefonds in France.
![Wartburg Castle, Thuringia, Germany. Credit Vitold Muratov](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4397/35998974143_7a09685599_b.jpg)
![Château de Pierrefonds, Oise, France. Credit Alexicographie](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4437/36808443995_a5b1342f6a_b.jpg)
Neuschwanstein can be said to be a combination of these two styles—the Romanesque Palas (the main building housing the great hall) and tower of Wartburg and the numerous ornamental turrets of Pierrefonds.
As an adolescent, Ludwig and his friend read poetry aloud and staged scenes from the Romantic operas of Richard Wagner, which appealed to his fantasy-filled imagination.
He commissioned stage designer Christian Jank to create concepts for Neuschwanstein because Jank had worked on scenery for Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin.
![Concept for Neuschwanstein Castle by Christian Jank, c.1883](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53399977459_bd3ed5d683_o.jpg)
Employing about 200 craftsmen, Neuschwanstein’s construction site was the biggest employer in the region for two decades.
![Neuschwanstein Castle during construction, 1882](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53399849918_127d226ac7_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein upper courtyard under construction, c. 1886](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53398746602_d84ca3bf5b_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53400011259_1dcdb37886_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle. Maëlick, flickr](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4424/35962747384_1293e6dbda_b.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53399685031_36a9fbffa8_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle. Credit Taxiarchos228](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4409/35988209173_0bd8d9c2ed_b.jpg)
Built in the 1860s, Marienbrücke (Mary’s Bridge) is a bridge overlooking Neuschwanstein Castle.
Popular with tourists as a good vantage point for photographs, the bridge spans a large gorge with a waterfall beneath.
![View of Neuschwanstein Castle from Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge). Credit Robert Böck](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4380/35988209583_83f38e70c3_b.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4382/35988209973_23b4154137_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle and Lake Alpsee in the Bavarian Alps. Credit Dmytro Balkhovitin](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4333/35988209063_9967c5df84_b.jpg)
The western Palas supports a two-storey balcony with a view on the Alpsee lake.
![Alps from a balcony of the Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. Credit Stanhua, flickr](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4374/35962747184_3639585c4e_b.jpg)
The entire Palas is spangled with numerous decorative chimneys and ornamental turrets, the court front with colourful frescos.
![Schloss Neuschwanstein Courtyard. Credit Jay, flickr](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4358/35988208933_bd4d2d824a_b.jpg)
![Detail of Frescos in Neuschwanstein Courtyard. Credit Hedwig Storch](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/36634831192_344caa4776_b.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Tower. Credit Ιακώβ](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4392/35997021163_493e3bb45f_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein's Castle roof detail. Credit Oliver-Bonjoch](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53400018509_82329f4994_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle, Lower Courtyard. Credit Bbb](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4359/36806794555_fc42793a93_b.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein corridor. Credit Lokilech](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53399887493_0b14be378b_o.jpg)
![Study, Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4361/36797515245_6a35172785_b.jpg)
Fitted with several of the latest 19th-century innovations, the palace had a battery-powered bell system for the servants, telephone lines, hot-air central heating, running warm water, and automatic flush toilets.
![Music room, Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4402/35988209313_f6448b8730_b.jpg)
![Drawing room, Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4358/36627113992_70294e2dc6_b.jpg)
![Dining room, Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4340/35988209383_a15cd8a2ae_b.jpg)
![Bedroom, Neuschwanstein Castle, c. 1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4405/36627114102_50162afcef_b.jpg)
The Throne Hall occupies the third and fourth floors and is surrounded by colorful arcades, with paintings of Jesus, the Twelve Apostles, and six canonized kings.
![Throne room, Neuschwanstein Castle, c.1895](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4352/35988209433_552ac83403_b.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Throne Room. Credit Lokilech](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4341/36627115012_c765a5b1a1_o.jpg)
![Neuschwanstein Castle Interior. Credit Schoenitzer](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4440/36627114722_8a3f4134af_o.jpg)
Ludwig’s imagination paid off: Neuschwanstein is magical from any angle and in any season.
![Neuschwanstein Castle in winter. Credit University of Denver, flickr](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4342/36627114442_c42664763a_b.jpg)
![The upper castle courtyard of Neuschwanstein in winter. Credit Benreis](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/35997016673_d3ccc7cd6f_b.jpg)
His architectural and artistic legacy includes many of Bavaria’s most important tourist attractions.
Even more ambitious than Neuschwanstein was another fairy tale castle planned to replace the ruins of Falkenstein Castle in Pfronten, Bavaria.
![The fairytale dream concept for Falkenstein Castle of Ludwig II and Christian Jank, 1883](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4357/36636311912_8ebe319785_o.jpg)
But work on Falkenstein never got underway because, by the 1880s, Ludwig’s debt had skyrocketed to 14 million marks.
With no end in sight to his extravagant building projects, the Bavarian government decided to act.
In June of 1886, King Ludwig II was deposed on the grounds of mental illness.
Taken to Berg Castle on the shores of Lake Starnberg, south of Munich, Ludwig took an evening stroll along the lake shore with his personal physician, Bernhard von Gudden.
Allegedly drowned, and possibly murdered, both were found dead that same night.
To this day the details of their deaths remain a mystery.
Only the swans and time know the real story, and they promised to keep it quiet.
![Swan on Lake Starnberg. Credit Boschfoto](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53399710236_5cef0a07a1_o.jpg)
Ludwig’s dream lives on, not only in Bavaria but all around the world thanks to Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle which took its inspiration from Neuschwanstein.
![Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, Anaheim, CA. Credit Tuxyso](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4420/35992341003_6a7365e97a_b.jpg)