Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and in honor of Richard Wagner.

Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein was opened to the public. The shy king had built the castle in order to withdraw from public life – now vast numbers of people came to view his private refuge.

Highlights

• The Throne Hall: inspired by Byzantine churches and in particular the All Saints Court Church in Munich. In the northern apse, there was to be a throne in place of the altar, but this was never constructed after the death of the king
• The Dining Room: an electric bell system was installed in 1885 so that the servant on duty here could be summoned from any other room
• The Bedroom: The state bed in the neo-gothic style and the seat coverings are in blue silk, with embroidered and appliquéd lions, swans, crowns, lilies, and the Bavarian coat of arms
• The Dressing Room: decorated in the style of a garden hall with an illusionistic ceiling painting of a garden bower with a trellis of vines open to the sky
• The Salon: murals in this room show scenes from the Lohengrin saga,, which Ludwig II identified within particular on account of the Grail Knight theme and the swan motif
• Grotto and conservatory: set-designer August Dirigl created the artificial dripstone cave, which originally had colored lighting and a waterfall
• Singers' Hall: this was one of the king's favorite projects and next to the Throne Hall the most important room in the castle.

Opening hours

April to 15 October: 9 am-6 pm
16 October to March: 10 am-4 pm
open daily except 1 January and 24 / 25 / 31 December