Germany: Neuschwanstein

After leaving Rothenburg, we were eager to continue our journey on Germany’s Romantic Road and see “Mad” King Ludwig’s famous Neuschwanstein Castle.  Easily the most photographed castle in Germany, Neuschwanstein is the epitome of the modern day idea of a (very unrealistic) romantic medieval castle.  In fact, this castle was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle in Disneyland and Cinderella’s castles in Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.  We had high expectations for this attraction because of its fame and dramatic history.

 
A view of the countryside approaching Füssen and Neuschwanstein.

Quaint towns dot the countryside on the Romantic Road.

Neuschwanstein Castle and the neighboring Hohenschwangau Castle are located just outside the town of Füssen in Southwest Bavaria. Füssen is where most people who visit the royal castles stay the night and represents the end of the Romantic Road. The town of Fussen is small but pretty. It is perfectly suited for a nice dinner and lovely stroll before visiting Neuschwanstein the next day but one night is enough. Füssen has its own castle called Hohes Schloss, but it’s not really worth visiting.  You can walk around the outside of the castle at night.

The town of Füssen

Fussen at twilight

Hohes Schloss

For a taste of traditional German food and comraderie, visit one of the local restaurants and drinking establishments in Füssen the night before your visit to the castles. Every Tuesday and Thursday night at 7 PM, the gregarious duo of Christian and Werner entertain the patrons at Gasthof Krone with local music and humor.  While we were there, we heard such classics (translation butchered by me) as “Frau Meyer’s underpants are yellow” and “There’s plenty of time in heaven to rest so let’s drink now.”

Gasthof Krone

Christian and Werner entertain with hilarious tunes and jokes.

The next morning we headed over to see the royal castles.  When you come to visit, you may tour either castle or both. It is best to buy your ticket(s) in advance, either online here or over the phone. You will be given a time window for your tours. If you decide to tour both, the ticket requires that you tour Hohenschwangau first. To get to Neuschwanstein, you can ride a bus, a horse drawn carriage, or hike.

“Mad” King Ludwig, also known as King Ludwig II of Bavaria, was an eccentric king who loved building elaborate castles. Although he used his personal funds to build these palaces, he borrowed heavily from family and other royalty and neglected his royal duties, which made him very unpopular with his ministers. This caused his cabinet of ministers to declare him insane and to legally depose him. The day after his arrest, King Ludwig was found dead in the nearby lake under mysterious circumstances with the psychiatrist who certified him insane.

Ludwig grew up in Hohenschwangau Castle, which was built by his father King Maxmillian II of Bavaria in the early 19th century. Maxmillian built the castle on the ruins of the castle Schwanstein, which dated back to at least the 12th century, after falling in love with the landscape here. While Neuschwanstein is now owned by the Bavarian government, Hohenschwangau still belongs to the former royal family.

 
Hohenschwangau

The beautiful lake next to Hohenschwangau.

Neuschwanstein Castle, on the other hand, was built by Ludwig II in the late 19th century. The castle is not a true medieval castle since it not built in the middle ages, but rather designed to reflect a romantic and highly fantastical conception of a knight’s castle. In fact, the castle was designed by a theatrical set designer for the most part and not an architect.

Even my first glimpse of Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau was romantic.

After touring Hohenschwangau, we took a bus up to Neuschwanstein. While the bus drops you off on the path to Neuschwanstein, it is worth it to hike up to Marienbrucke (Mary’s Bridge) before you go to Neuschwanstein. It only takes about 20 minutes to go there and back and the views are amazing. I consider the Marienbrucke a must do, because it gives you the best view hands down of Neuschwanstein. This perspective of the castle is what you see in all those tourist photos.

The best view of Neuschwanstein is from Marienbrucke, except for the ugly scaffolding (sigh).

Other views from the Marienbrucke include beautiful forests.

Marienbrucke is a small bridge suspended over these falls.

Every part of the design of Neuschwanstein was carefully planned, from its exact placement on a dramatic hilltop overlooking Ludwig’s childhood home, Hohenschwangau, to its exterior grandeur and fairy tale turrents, to the impressive interior that honored Richard Wagner’s operas.  The castle’s location maximized the beauty of the surroundings as viewed from inside. Photos were not allowed inside either castle, but the views more than made up for that.

Although this attraction is much hyped, we felt that it lived up to its expectations.  Neuschwanstein was every bit as beautiful in person as in the pictures.  While the tours are quite short, they are interesting.  The area’s natural backdrop was stunning and really exceeded our expectations.  We highly recommend that Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau be part of any visitor’s itinerary in Germany.

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