The Neuschwanstein Castle is named in honor of the Swan Knight an opera by Wagner and means "New Swan Stone". Its construction does not have to go back long, only to the 19th century, at a time when castles were no longer necessary as fortresses. His surroundings, typical of a fairy tale, made him a source of inspiration as a model for movies (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Spaceballs), television series (The Amazing Race), Tschaikowsy when he composed “Swan Lake”, to artists like Andy Warhol, on commemorative stamps and coins and, most magical of all, was chosen by Walt Disney as the model for Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, welcoming all children and adults who come to the amusement park.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle, in Bavaria (Germany) |
And it is that many of the locations of the Disney films have been inspired by real places: the Angel Falls in Venezuela, the Machu Pichu in Peru, the Serengeti in Kenya, the Taj Mahal in India… and our “enchanted castle ”In Bavaria (Germany).
History
Located in the federal state of Bavaria, on the Pöllat gorge in Germany, during the Middle Ages there were two small castles corresponding to the Wittelsbach family fiefdom. In the 19th century they were abandoned and in ruins, and that is when in 1866, Louis II of Bavaria, the "mad king", ordered its construction to remember the years he spent during his childhood in Hohenschwangau Castle - which was located near that place - and as his refuge when he was outside the capital, Munich. Crazy or not, this castle rose from the romantic imagination of a king beginning to project it two years after acceding to the throne. After visiting his brother Otto in 1867 at Warburg Castle in Eisenach and at Pierrefonds Castle in July, he no longer had any doubts that he should build a castle. A romantic castle typical of the Middle Ages.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle, in Bavaria (Germany) |
In its architecture various architectural styles are mixed (Romanesque, Gothic, Byzantine), its design being purely aesthetic leaving aside the functional. He entrusted the project to Christian Jank and Eduard Riedel, but each draft, each idea, had to first obtain the approval of the King. In fact, the whims of the monarch increased costs to double what was expected (6 million gold marks), delaying the completion of the work.
Countless towers and chimneys and the cornice with its battlements give it its characteristic appearance. The external walls, covered by 400,000 red bricks, and its interior facade, with 1,550 tons of yellow limestone from a nearby quarry. Its 465 tons of marble for the columns and capitals came from Salzburg, and on the door lintel we find a coat of arms of the Bavarian kingdom.
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| The king's bedroom in a 19th century photochrome |
But its interior is no less fanciful. It has 360 rooms, of which only 14 were finished, decorated with great luxury, in which paintings, tapestries and legends are the protagonists of its walls. Distributed in two buildings, we find the offices and utility rooms on the lower floors while the state rooms and king's pomp are located on the upper floor. On its third level the residential rooms and above the "Singers Room", where the parties would be hosted. The "Throne Room" occupies almost the entire upper level. In total 6000 m2 of surface.
From the monarch's room you can enjoy the views of an incredible waterfall and contrary to what one might think the castle had many advances of the time: telephone service, running water, toilets with automatic flushing.
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| Eurodisney Paris Castle |
King Louis II went into debt - for various reasons - and the Bavarian government incapacitated him on June 9, 1886 when he was in the castle, being forced to abandon it and confine himself to the castle of Berg due to an alleged mental illness. There he was found dead in Lake Stamberg on June 13, in circumstances not yet clarified.
In 2002 a meteorite fell near the castle and in 2007 the castle was finalist in the election of the new seven wonders of the modern world. The king never saw the Neuschwanstein Castle finished and lived only 6 months in it, even the great Wagner never entered it either, however its beauty and charm has captivated the whole world and is currently one of the most popular tourist destinations.