The Disney castle in Germany is almost unforgettable in today’s world. The childhood of almost every person born from the 90s downwards is incomplete without at least one story involving the Castle.
The Cinderella story, Rapunzel and the long hair, sleeping beauty, beauty, and the beast, etc., all featured the Disney castle in one form or another.
The Disney castle in Germany is the Neuschwanstein castle located in the village of Hohenschwangau, Allgau, Bavaria.
The Neuschwanstein castle is the closest physical replica of the Disney castle as represented in the fairy tales. It was built by King Ludwig II who was known as the mad king between 1868-1892 (Read more about its beautiful story!).
Today, the Castle has multiple relevances as it serves as the logo of the Walt & Disney movie production company, and a symbol of a fairy tale in real life.
Read more to learn all the amazing stuff about the Disney castle in Germany.
Top 6 most asked questions about Disney Castle, Germany.
#1 – Where is the Disney castle in Germany?
Tourists ask this question all the time. If you would like to visit the Disney castle, it is located in the village of Hohenschwangau in the hills of Allgua, Near Fussen, Bavaria.
You can travel by road, or partly by train. The Fussen railway is the closest to the Castle, from where you can join public transport to the Castle. According to King Louis II, the location of the castle is one of the most beautiful to be found, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple’.
Do not fret because although it is still holy and beautiful, its owner died a long time ago, and it is now approachable.
#2 – Which castle is Disney castle based on?
As stated earlier, the Disney castle was modeled after the Neuschwanstein castle, in Bavaria. But then comes the next question, what was the Neuschwanstein castle modeled after?
King Louis II AKA Mad King Ludwig grew up in a fancy Hohenschwangau castle, and upon assuming the throne as the prime ruler of Bavaria, he sought to recreate his Hohenschwangau home (a neo-Gothic medieval-styled castle) more grandly and beautifully.
He aimed to make it his resting abode where he could retreat away from the world.
That explains why shortly after the Castle’s construction began, it was nicknamed the New Hohenschwangau castle.
#3 – Where did the idea of the Disney castle come from?
The Neuschwanstein castle was pioneered by King Ludwig’s idea of fantasy, fairy tales, and magnificence.
According to Insider, it was the murals and the amazing decorations and style of the Neuschwanstein castle that prompted the Disney team to model the fairy tale castles after it.
King Louis II was a big dreamer, and Disneyland focused on creating dreamlike fairy tales; so they found a match.
#4 – How big is the Disney Castle in Real Life?
Although the description of the Castle in each fairy tale may slightly differ, the Neuschwanstein castle that is the real Disney Castle is built on the top of a rock, just above the Pollat Gorge in the Bavarian Alps.
It has Romanesque designs and unique paintings.
The Castle has many rooms and interior structures, (originally planned to have 110 rooms), but only 14 chambers have been completed up until date. It is 65, 000 sq ft large and has five (5) floors. It consists of the following rooms:
- The Lower Hall
- The singers’ Hall
- Throne Hall I
- Throne Hall II
- The Anteroom
- The Upper Hall
- The Bedroom,
- The dining room
- The Oratory,
- The Passage
- The Dressing room,
- The salon
- The study
- The Grotto
These rooms are open to tourists, and they have incredible wall paintings and neo-classical designs.
From the outside, the Disney Castle is painted white with black-blue turrets and positioned on a hilltop.
#5 – What Castle is in the Walt Disney logo?
It is impossible to tell the tale of Hollywood without mentioning Walt Disney. The company has produced many magical tales and fantasies for about 99 years now starting from cartoon mice to CGIs and real-time animations.
In 1985, Walt Disney adopted a background castle as part of its logo. The background castle had Walt Disney written across it like a rainbow.
Today, the logo is a complete depiction of the Cinderella castle, colorful and complete with the towers, windows, and a moat.
Their movies often give viewers a brief tour of the castle’s outer part before settling into a pictorial form.
There have been a series of debates that the Cinderella castle as depicted in Walt Disney is the Neuschwanstein castle of Bavaria, but the company officially denied this assertion, further stating that the castle in the logo was not designed with the Neuschwanstein castle in mind.
The company went ahead to modify the castle to make it look less than the Hohenschwangau castle and more of the Peter Pan and other fairy tale castles. It is rumored that the castle in the logo now serves as a prototype of the Disney Castle in Paris.
Having taken ideas from the Hohenschwangau castle to design some of their fairy tales, the company is not comfortable allowing its logo to be squarely dependent on the same castle.
#6 – Who designed Disney castle?
The Romanesque designs of the Neuschwanstein castle were painted by Christian Hank while the Cinderella castle was allegedly designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond.
Closing Note:
So, while the Disney Castle may have been inspired by the Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria and most of the fairy tale castles modeled after it, the Disney logo has been modified to look different from the Neuschwanstein castle.
Walt Disney and co would rather have an imagining to take the glory for their logo but we do know that it was inspired by the Germany Castle which lies near Fussen, in Bavaria, Germany.
For more information on the Neuschwanstein castle, click here to see our articles.
