Yesterday Ashley and I visited Neuschwanstein castle. This is the quintessential fairytale princess castle in Europe. Its only about 150 years old and is situated in the Bavarian alps.
Bavarian King Ludwig II ordered the construction of the castle in 1869. As a child Ludwig would visit a nearby castle during the summers and fell in love with the Bavarian mountain range. He wanted to build a very opulent palace in the historicist style. Famously the castle was never completed (only about one third of the rooms were fully finished). The king attempted to pay this castle (and a few other new castles) out of pocket but he eventually need to take on tremendous debt. In addition he largely ignored his administrative duties. Then in 1886 he was deposed and a few days later found dead in a lake (still unknown if it was murder or suicide). Constructed stopped immediately and a few weeks later it opened as a tourist site.
The castle does have a fairytale quality to it. And apparently it is partly the inspiration for Walt Disney’s sleeping beauty’s castle. In the castle there was a woodland mural that also served as inspiration for Bambi’s forest.
While the castle was beautiful inside and out, I thought the best view was of the alps from the castle.