Neuschwanstein Castle (New Castle) “I want to remain an eternal mystery to myself and others.” Ludwig Presented by Julie M. Felci

King Ludwig The castle was built for King Ludwig, it wasn’t built for royal representation but mostly a place where King Ludwig escaped too, a fantasy-world-far from reality. At the age of 18, he was pronounced the new king. Ludwig was shy and he isolated himself from society because he didn’t have much knowledge of life and politics. Quote from Ludwig, “I became king much too early. I had not learned enough. I had made such a good beginning…with the learning of state laws. Suddenly I was snatched away from my books and set on the throne. Well, I am still trying to learn…”

King Ludwig’s Family Ludwig was born on August 25, His father was Maximilian II of Bavaria. His mother was Marie of Prussia. He had a younger brother named Otto.

Ludwig’s Interests Ludwig enjoyed dressing up, play acting and pictures. His passion was for the music, writings, and dramas of Richard Wagner and the poetry from Tannhäuser who’s works are displayed throughout his castle. King Ludwig also had actors who would perform operas and plays for him when he was alone.

Neuschwanstein The castle walls have many pictures of kings, knights, lovers, and poets which are supposed to symbolize love, guilt, salvation and repentance. The castle had the latest technologies such as hot air central heating, every floor had running water available, the toilets had an automatic flushing system, he had telephones, and an electric bell system to reach his servants.

Construction of the Castle The castle was designed by Eduard Riedel. The foundation for the castle was laid out on September 5, The Construction of the castle consisted of -465 tons of Salzburg marble tons of sandstone -400,000 bricks -600 tons of cement -50 tons of hard coal cubic meters of sand cubic meters of wooden scaffolding 200 workers were used to build the castle.

Servants Room The upper first floor is where the servants lived. There were five servant rooms in total and each room would have two servants. The rooms were filled with plain oak furniture. When King Ludwig wasn’t around, there would be always people living there to make sure nothing would happen to the castle.

Servants Room

Throne Room The Throne room resembles a Byzantine church. There are many varieties of paintings that are supposed to resemble mosaics. The paintings include saints and previous kings. The room symbolizes law-making and the idea of kingship.

Throne Room

Throne Room (Continued)

Dining Room This is the room where King Ludwig ate, he ate by himself. His meals were transported from the kitchen to the dining room, which was three floors up by a manually operated lift.

Dining Room

Bedroom King Ludwig’s bedroom is Gothic style. It took 14 woodcarvers four years to finish the wood carvings in his room. The room resembles a Gothic church because of the little towers and the shape of the windows. This is the room where King Ludwig was arrested on the night of June 11, 1886.

Bedroom

Oratory This room is a Gothic style oratory and it was for the king’s private use only. A large chapel was planned to be built but it was never finished. The stained glass, altar, and wall paintings are scenes from the life of King Louis IX of France. This king died in 1270 and they canonized him in 1297 and it’s King Ludwig’s patron saint.

Oratory

Grotto This is the most unusual room in the castle. When King Ludwig was living there, he had a small waterfall and colored lighting and there was a hidden opening in the ceiling which made it practical for him to listen to music from the Singers’ Hall, which was located right above the Grotto. King Ludwig would come here to be alone, listen to music and drink wine.

Grotto

Conservatory In order to get from the Grotto to the conservatory, there’s a glass door that opens by sliding down into the rock. There’s also a beautiful view of the Alpine foothills.

Conservatory

Singers Hall This is the largest room in the whole castle. Whenever Ludwig wanted to see an opera, it was performed here.

Singers Hall

Kitchen The kitchen had the latest equipment such as running water (drinkable), automatic spits and cupboards that could be heated with hot air from the enormous kitchen stove. The kitchen was used for only two years.

Kitchen

Why is King Ludwig Mad? King Ludwig was considered “mad” because in 1885, foreign banks threatened to seize his property and the king refused to rationalize with the foreign banks. The government then intervened and declared him insane and removed him from the throne on June 9 th of Ludwig II was interned in Berg Palace. On June 13 th, King Ludwig died in “mysterious circumstances” in Lake Starnberg, along with Dr. von Gudden (the psychiatrist who certified him as insane.) King Ludwig’s body is in the crypt of St. Michael’s Church in Munich.

Lake Starnberg

King Ludwig’s Body

Neuschwanstein After King Ludwig’s Death Seven weeks after Ludwig died in 1886, the Neuschwanstein Castle was opened to the public. The Irony is that the king built the castle to isolate himself from the public and now many people from all over the world can view his private refuge. The Neuschwanstein castle is constantly being monitored because of it’s location. The sheer rock walls have to be repeatedly secured. Also, the rough climate has a damaging effect on the limestone façades, which has to be renovated over the next few years. “Since 1990 the Free State of Bavaria has spent around 11.2 million euros on the renovation and maintenance of the castle and improvement of the visitor service.”

Tourist Information The admission tickets can only be bought in the village of Hohenschwangau at the bottom of the castle. You have to buy your ticket before starting the 30 minute walk to the castle. You can buy your ticket in advance for an additional charge. You can cancel or change the time of your ticket 2 hours before the start time of the tour (in-person or by phone). The address for ticket purchase is Ticketcenter Neuschwanstein – Hohenschwangau Alpseestr. 12, Hohenschwangau Telephone +49-(0) Fax +49-(0) Internet:

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