Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany is the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.
“Mad King” Ludwig II of Bavaria had it built in the 19th century to indulge his romantic fancies.
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Bavarian palace.
Located on a mountain top in Germany, near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Swabia, the palace was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King’s inspiring muse. Although public photography of the interior is not permitted, it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations.
Ludwig did not allow visitors to his castles, but since its opening in 1886, over 50 million people have visited the Neuschwanstein Castle.
About 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer. The palace has appeared in movies several times, and was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.
Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein was opened to the public. The shy king had built the castle in order to withdraw from public life – now vast numbers of people came to view his private refuge.
Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. Every year 1.3 million people visit “the castle of the fairy-tale king”. In the summer around 6,000 visitors a day stream through rooms that were intended for a single inhabitant.
The setting of Neuschwanstein could not be more idyllic. However, movement in the foundation area has to be continuously monitored, and the sheer rock walls must be repeatedly secured. The harsh climate also has a detrimental effect on the limestone façades, which will have to be renovated section by section over the next few years.
Since 1990 the Free State of Bavaria has spent around 14.5 million euros on the renovation and maintenance of the castle and improvement of the visitor service.
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Across the ocean and above the lands
Sits a legacy for all curious eyes.
An ivory castle on a lonely peak
Where even the clouds bow down
Beneath its soaring majestic spires.
It was the dream of one king not long ago
That flustered the brow of every fair maiden.
To build for beauty, hold art above war.
Dismissing tradition and logic for lies
And following a single dream to lands end.
He sat on the banks of the river Rhine
Imagining one original palace after the next.
Maybe he shopped in the Marienplatz
For velvet loveseats and porcelain swans
To adorn the seed of his hearts content.
But now the king has been gone for years.
And Bavaria has never quite been the same
Since the death of Kind Ludwig the mad.
His castles stand proud and greet the wanderers
And journeyman, and dreamers and historians alike.
Though all are rare in craft and dripping in style
One of his lonely dreams stands above the rest.
Reaching beyond the Alpine rolling skies
Coloring heaven with a touch of human royalty.
A place any Sleeping Beauty would pray to wake.
It is here, I fell in love again, twice in the time of a year.
First with the earth, its inhabitants achievements
And the very nature that hides them in its breast.
The lakes that capture the suns final rays,
The heaving mountains with their fancy caps of snow,
The whispering cow bells carried by the gentle winds
And the serenity of the painted villages sleeping below.
The second time was with a young mate
Who accompanied me to my secret place.
To cavort once the daily bustles had calmed.
He fell for the battlements I had loved before
Understood the treasures I longed to share.
He carried me up the mountain like a princess
To her new palace on the night they were wed.
He kissed me to the whimpering of waterfalls,
Then watched on as the sun sank to bed.
Blessed be whoever may fall upon this place
Tucked into the heart of the Bavarian Alps
For this is the spot where I proudly left my heart,
And left Neuschwanstein for widened eyes to behold.
Germany (German: Deutschland IPA: [?d??t?lant]), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: [?b?nd?srepubli?k ?d??t?lant]), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered on the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, on the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, on the south by Austria and Switzerland, and on the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.