The Mad Prince Ludwig II of Bavaria had built the beautiful castle of Neuschwanstein during the latter years of the Victorian Period. It was used as inspiration for the Disney Cinderella’s Castle. Here first are the original photos taken during construction, then the pictures of it now, inside and out.
1868-1884:
Construction of Neuschwanstein Castle
“Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany, was commissioned by Ludwig II as a homage to Richard Wagner.
“In 1868, the ruins of existing medieval twin castles were demolished; the old keep was blown up. The palace was built in brick and later encased with other types of rock. For about two decades the construction site was the principal employer of the region. The heirs of the 30 construction casualties received a small pension.
“In the end, Ludwig II only lived in the palace for a total of 172 days.”
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- Interior
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- The Castle
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- The throne room
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- Sitting room
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- In winter
Michael Bradley - Time Traveler 
Reblogged this on miftahulhuda234.
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I’ve been there. The castle itself is gorgeous, yes, but it’s actually very tiny, and the only ‘treasure’ in it was the architecture and design. The sister castle, Hohenschwangau (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenschwangau_Castle), which is located just a peak or two over, looked more like a fort, but that is where the portable treasures (works of art and wondrous craftmanship) still were when I went there as a kid. The tours of both were quite interesting.
However, the crowning glory of ‘Mad’ King Ludwig’s palace-building passion was the New Palace at Herrenchiemsee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrenchiemsee), a replica of Versailles, enhanced with an operatic water grotto where Ludwig could sit in a swan boat all by himself and watch Wagner’s operas performed for him with the amazing acoustics of the water; and a dining room with the entire table on a huge dumb-water, so it could be lowered into the kitchen and set and laden and then raised up to the dining room so he could eat in solitude.
‘Mad’ King Ludwig was a fascinating character, and visiting his palaces and castles was a frequent joy when we were kids in Germany when Dad was in the Army.
Thank you for bringing these memories back to my mind. 😀
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Thanks for your comments. I have another friend who saw this and it brought back her memories of a visit as well. I wish I could visit there myself, but I am kind of tied down at the moment. I will have to live vicariously.
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I’m tied down, too (literally right now, in dialysis), but at least I can relive my childhood memories about it.
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Great post. My wife has always been appalled that I didn’t go there when I was in Germany for 2 weeks. Will have to visit it if I ever make it back to that part of the world
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Oh I really really want to go! Everytime I see pictures of it, it feels like every season would be perfect to go and visit the castle.
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