Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle (Southern Bavarian: Schloss Neischwanstoa) is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany.

The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and in honour of Richard Wagner. Ludwig chose to pay for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds. Construction began in 1869 but was never fully completed.

The castle was intended as a private residence for the King until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death. Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer.

The municipality of Schwangau lies at an elevation of 800 m (2,620 ft) at the southwest border of the German state of Bavaria. Its surroundings are characterised by the transition between the Alpine foothills in the south (toward the nearby Austrian border) and a hilly landscape in the north that appears flat by comparison.

In the Middle Ages, three castles overlooked the villages. One was called Schwanstein Castle. In 1832, Ludwig’s father King Maximilian II of Bavaria bought its ruins to replace them with the comfortable neo-Gothic palace known as Hohenschwangau Castle. Finished in 1837, the palace became his family’s summer residence, and his elder son Ludwig (born 1845) spent a large part of his childhood here.

Vorderhohenschwangau Castle and Hinterhohenschwangau Castle sat on a rugged hill overlooking Schwanstein Castle, two nearby lakes (Alpsee and Schwansee), and the village. Separated by only a moat, they jointly consisted of a hall, a keep, and a fortified tower house.

In the nineteenth century only ruins remained of the twin medieval castles, but those of Hinterhohenschwangau served as a lookout place known as Sylphenturm.

The ruins above the family palace were known to the crown prince from his excursions. He first sketched one of them in his diary in 1859.

When the young king came to power in 1864, the construction of a new palace in place of the two ruined castles became the first in his series of palace building projects.

Ludwig called the new palace New Hohenschwangau Castle; only after his death was it renamed Neuschwanstein. The confusing result is that Hohenschwangau and Schwanstein have effectively swapped names: Hohenschwangau Castle replaced the ruins of Schwanstein Castle, and Neuschwanstein Castle replaced the ruins of the two Hohenschwangau Castles

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WERNIGERODE CASTLE

Germany

Wernigerode Castle is a schloss located in the Harz mountains above the town of Wernigerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

The present-day building, finished in the late 19th century, is similar in style to Schloss Neuschwanstein, though its foundations are much older. It is open to the public and one of the most frequently visited in Saxony-Anhalt.

The first mention of the Saxon noble Adalbert of Haimar, Count of Wernigerode, in an 1121 deed is also the first documentation of the settlement, which had been founded about a century earlier in connection with the deforestation of the area.

The counts built the castle on a slope south of the town as their residence; it was first mentioned as a castrum in 1213. When the line became extinct in 1429, the Wernigerode lands were inherited by the neighbouring County of Stolberg. The castle became the seat of the subordinate Amt administration and was put in pledge several times.Wernigerode town and schloss, about 1820

When in 1645 the Stolberg-Stolberg line split, Wernigerode again became the capital of the County of Stolberg-Wernigerode.

The counts however struggled with the citizens in the course of the Thirty Years’ War and had to take their residence at nearby Ilsenburg House. It was not until 1710 that Count Christian Ernest could relocate the seat of government back to Wernigerode when he had the castle rebuilt as a Schloss in a Baroque style.

He ruled for 61 years, though he had to accept the overlordship of King Frederick William I of Prussia in 1714.

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DRACHENBURG CASTLE

Germany

Schloss Drachenburg or Drachenburg Castle is a private villa styled as a palace and constructed in the late 19th century. It was completed in only two years (1882–84) on the Drachenfels hill in Königswinter, a German town on the east bank of the Rhine, south of the city of Bonn. Baron Stephan von Sarter [de] (1833–1902), a broker and banker, planned to live there but never did.

The villa is owned by the State Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is served by an intermediate station on the Drachenfels Railway.

In 1963, a Syndicate for the Preservation of Drachenburg was founded which succeeded in getting the castle classified as worth preserving. It was purchased, in 1971, by a local textile merchant, Paul Spinat, who carried out major restorations and used it for entertaining and also opened for visitors. He died in debt in 1989 and the State of North-Rhine, Westphalia took over the estate and carried out a further series of restoration works stretching over 20 years.

The restoration was greatly helped by the existence of a number of postcards and other illustrations commissioned by Jacob Biesenbach for his original tourism project at the beginning of the 20th century. The building is now administered by the North-Rhine, Westphalia Foundation.

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RHEINSTEIN CASTLE

Germany

Rheinstein Castle is a castle near the town of Trechtingshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The castle was constructed in about 1316/1317. Rheinstein Castle was important for its strategic location. By 1344, the castle was in decline. By the time of the Palatine War of Succession, the castle was very dilapidated.

During the romantic period in the 19th century, Prince Frederick of Prussia (1794–1863) bought the castle and it was rebuilt.

Burg Rheinstein possesses a working drawbridge and portcullis, which are typical of medieval castle architecture and defences. The castle is open to the public. Just past the gift shop near the entrance is an opening on the left to the courtyard, which has views of the Rhine.

Rheinstein’s courtyard is known as the Burgundy Garden after the Burgundy grapevine growing there. The vine, which is approximately 500 years old, still produces grapes.

From the garden, steps lead down to the castle chapel. In the centre of the Gothic altarpiece of the chapel, there is a woodcarving depicting Jesus at the Last Supper. Between the rock and chapel, additional steps lead down to the royal crypt of Prince Frederick William Louis’s family.

Heading upwards to the Burgundy Garden, another set of steps lead to the main part of the castle. The largest and most impressive room at Rheinstein Castle is located at the top of the stairway to the left once inside the castle. Known as the Rittersaal or Knight’s Hall, it includes beautiful stained glass windows, as well as three-dimensional paintings.

Rheinstein houses a cafe and gift shop offering miniature handmade wooden treasure chests, as well as traditional items including postcards and guidebooks for purchase.

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SCHÖNBURG CASTLE

Germany

The Schönburg is a castle above the medieval town of Oberwesel in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Schönburg Castle was first mentioned in history between the years 911 and 1166.

From the 12th century, the Lords of Schönburg ruled over the town of Oberwesel and had also the right to levy customs on the Rhine river.

The most famous was Friedrich von Schönburg – a much-feared man known as “Marshall Schomberg” – who in the 17th century served as a colonel and as a general under the King of France in France and Portugal and later also for the Prussians and for William Prince of Orange in England.

The Schönburg line died out with the last heir, the son of Friedrich of Schönburg.

The castle was burned down in 1689 by French soldiers during the War of the Grand Alliance.

Schönburg castle remained in ruins for 200 years until it was acquired by the German-American Rhinelander family who bought the castle from the town of Oberwesel in the late 19th century and restored it.

The town council of Oberwesel acquired the castle back from the Rhinelander family in 1950.

Since 1957 the Hüttl family have been living at the castle on a long-term lease; they operate a successful hotel and restaurant there.

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HOHENSCHWANGAU CASTLE

Germany

Hohenschwangau Castle is a 19th-century palace in southern Germany. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria.

It is located in the German village of Hohenschwangau near the town of Füssen, part of the county of Ostallgäu in southwestern Bavaria, Germany, very close to the border with Austria.

The fortress Schwangau, which was first mentioned in historical records dating from the 12th Century, stood high upon a rock on the site of the present 19th-century Neuschwanstein castle. The knights, later count of Schwangau, were ministerial of the Welfs. Hiltbolt von Schwangau (1195–1254) was a minnesinger. Margareta von Schwangau was the wife of minnesinger Oswald von Wolkenstein.

The present-day Hohenschwangau (“Upper Schwangau”) castle was first mentioned in 1397, though under the name of Schwanstein. Only in the 19th century, the names of the two castles have switched. It was built on a hill above lake Alpsee, below the older fortress.

Between 1440 and 1521 the Lords had to sell their fief with Imperial immediacy to the Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria but continued to occupy the castle as Burgraves. In 1521 they became owners again but had to sell their land in 1535.

The purchaser, Johann Paumgartner, a wealthy Augsburg merchant, had the lower castle reconstructed by Italian architect Lucio di Spazzi who already worked on the Hofburg, Innsbruck. He kept the exterior walls and the towers but rebuilt the inner parts until 1547, on a floor plan that still today exists.

The older Schwangau fortress however continued to fall into ruins. Paumgartner, after having been elevated to the rank of baron, died in 1549 and his sons sold their new castle to Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria.

The Wittelsbachs used the castle for bear hunting or as a retreat for agnatic princes. In 1743 it was plundered by Austrian troops. In the German mediatization, the county of Schwangau became officially a part of the Electorate of Bavaria in 1803.

King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria sold the castle in 1820. Only in 1832 his grandson Maximilian II of Bavaria, then crown prince, buy it back. In April 1829, he had discovered the historic site during a walking tour and reacted enthusiastically to the beauty of the surrounding area.

He acquired the dilapidated building – then still known as Schwanstein – in 1832, abandoning his father’s wish that he should move into the old castle (Hohes Schloss) in the nearby town of Füssen.

In February 1833, the reconstruction of the castle began, continuing until 1837, with additions up to 1855. The architect in charge, Domenico Quaglio, was responsible for the neogothic style of the exterior design. He died in 1837 and the task was continued by Joseph Daniel Ohlmüller (died 1839) and Georg Friedrich Ziebland.

More than 90 wall paintings represent the history of Schwangau (literally translated the Swan District), as well as medieval German romances such as Parzival and the story of Lohengrin, the Knight of the Swan, on which Richard Wagner later based his operas Lohengrin of 1848 and Parsifal of 1882, sponsored by Ludwig II who had grown up with these stories at Hohenschwangau.

Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia, and their two sons Ludwig (the later King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and Otto (the later King Otto I of Bavaria). The young princes spent many years of their adolescence here.

Queen Marie who loved to hike in the mountains created an alpine garden with plants gathered from all over the alps. The King and the Queen lived in the main building and the boys in the annexe.

The Queen’s cousin, Frederick William IV of Prussia, had Stolzenfels Castle on the Rhine rebuilt at the same time in the Gothic Revival style.Hohenschwangau Village on left, Schloss Hohenschwangau on right, as seen from Neuschwanstein Castle.

King Maximilian died in 1864 and his son Ludwig succeeded to the throne, moving into his father’s room in the castle. As Ludwig never married, his mother Marie was able to continue living on her floor during the summer months.

King Ludwig enjoyed living in Hohenschwangau, however mostly in the absence of his disliked mother, especially after 1869 when the building of his own castle, Neuschwanstein, began on the site of the old Schwangau fortress, high above his parent’s castle.

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