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Published: December 9th 2008
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Neuschwanstein Castle. Near the town of Schwangau, in the Allgäu area of the Alps.
We left the Christmas village of Rothenburg, and headed south. Next on our quick trip through Bavaria, was the castle of Neuschwanstein. With each mile, there was more and more snow on the ground. Soon, we were surrounded in a scene from a winter post card. And when we caught a glimpse of the castle through the trees, we could see that Disney probably did get his inspiration for Cinderella's castle, from Neuschwanstein. It's maybe a little too cold for Tinkerbell.
Unlike most castles, this castle was not built as a defense for the town. It was for a king's fantasy. And it is not ancient. King Ludwig II began contruction in 1869, and with all the money of royalty at his disposal, Neuschwanstein has many modern technologies, running water, flushing WC's, and central heat. It was one of several castles he was having built at the time. Ludwig was entranced with German mythology, and Robert Wagner's compositions gave him an obsessive focus for the theme of his castle. Some of the rooms interior's are interpretations of operas by Wagner. This suited Wagner, for now
he had a patron.
Ludwig died before his "New Swan stone" was completed, the second floor in still bare. He spent over a decade building it and barely 3 months living there. Only 19 when his father died and he became king of Bavaria, he was 41 at his death.
Because he preferred a life of fantasy to the life of an administrator, Ludwig lost a war to Prussia. With this, and the popular belief that he spent the country's money on his castle building, he was declared incompetent and sentenced to an asylum. Within days of his arrival he was found floating in a lake, along with the body of psychiatrist Dr. Bernhard von Gudden, chief of the Munich Asylum. Now, that sounds like a mystery to me. Had he been killed trying to escape? Suicide? Was he crazy?
During the tour, I had to wonder what he would think if he could hear the guides in his castle refering to him as "Mad" Ludwig. Seeing how the royalty of the time was raised up, secluded from everyday labors, pampered, every whim obeyed. No wonder figures such as Marie and Louis in France,
England's Henry, and now Ludwig, were neurotic enough to create these fantasy environments.
Neuschwanstein is just above the royal family's smaller castle of Hohenschwangau. As we walked between the two castles, I thought about Ludwig and his brother Otto, playing in this forest, one hundred seventy years ago. To the privledged princes, this mountain side must have been a magical place. It was to us. There aren't many photos in our entry, none are allowed inside the castle. Our guide mentioned that she would look the other way, but the guide for the group behind us didn't.
This fairy tale castle in the Alps was considered as a finalist in the "new 7 wonders of the world". Does that mean we are getting old, when the " 7 wonders of the world" are no longer "wonders"?
Keith had us spending the night over the border, in Austria. Reutte was a nice little town, but we were back in the car after breakfast, headed for Monachuim, Polish for Munich.
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