Castle of Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein () is a picturesque castle German of medieval style néo- which is close to Füssen in the Allgäu, an area located at the south of the Bavaria, directly with the foot of the the Alps. Louis II, king de Bavière made it build at the 19th century. Though the construction of the castle was rejected by its entourage and the people, it is the most famous castle of Germany today.

Genesis and construction

Letter of Louis II with Richard Wagner , 1864:

It is in my intention to rebuild the old ruin of castle of Hohenschwangau close to the throat of Pöllat in the authentic style of the old castles of the German knights, and I confess you that I look at ahead to live this day (in 3 years); there will be several comfortable rooms and rooms of hosts with a splendid sight of noble Säuling, the mountains of the Tyrol and far through the plain; you know the venerated host whom I would like to see there; the place is one of most beautiful than one can find, saint and inaccessible, a worthy temple for the divine friend who brought safety and the blessing to the world. He will also point out to you Tannhäuser (Room of the singers with a sight of the castle in the content), Lohengrin (court of castle, corridor opened, way towards the vault); this castle will be more beautiful and livable in any case that Hohenschwangau which is further downwards and which is profaned each year by the prose of my mother; they will have their revenge, the profaned gods, and will come to live with us on the raised heights, breathing the air of the ciel.

In 1867, at the time of a voyage in France, Louis II visited the Château of Pierrefonds. The idea to mix this architectural style Neo-gothic with that, medieval, of the Wartburg in Thuringe gave a blazing result.

Neuschwanstein was built on the site of two old castle-forts, Vorderhohenschwangau and Hinterhohenschwangau. To be able to raise the castle of its dreams, Louis II made dynamite the mountain in order to lower by 8 meters the base of the old castles. It is only after the construction of the road and the installation of running water that the first stone was posed, the September 5th 1869. Work was directed by the architect Eduard Riedel and decorated by Christian Jank, a decorator of theater. The construction of the “new rock of the swan” (translation of Neuschwanstein ) required 465 tons of Marbre and: 400000 bricks. In 1884, Louis II is established in the palate. Two years later, after its mysterious death, the castle was opened with the public, although it was not finished yet.

The preliminary draft of Louis II and Riedel was more ambitious, but the Bavarian State decided not to continue work with dead of the king.

Tourism

Since 1886, one counts on average 1,3 million visitors each year. Each summer, more: 6000 visitors per day hustle themselves towards the various parts which were planned for only one person. However, the castle also has disadvantages, since the free State of Bavaria must spend approximately 11,2 million Euro S per year for its maintenance and the improvement of the services to the visitors, even if that represents little vis-a-vis the profits that Neuschwanstein generates.

Gallery

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