Neuschwanstein Schloss is one of the most famous German castles ever built. Built by King Ludwig II, the mad king of Bavaria, Neuschwanstein is the inspiration behind Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Neuschwanstein Schloss was built as a refuge for King Ludwig II, who had become increasingly reclusive after Bavaria lost sovereignty to the Holy Roman Empire. Ludwig created Neuschwanstein Schloss to realize his dreams of a fantastic medieval world of Knights and German Castles. Located in a remote hill above the village of Hohenshwangau in Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Schloss attracts more than 1.3 million people every year, to witness one of the most eccentric German castles.
Where is Neuschwanstein Schloss, German castle
Neuschwanstein schloss, one of the most famous German castles is located near Shwagau and Fussen in Bavaria.
How to get to Neuschwanstein Schloss
The easiest way to reach Neuschwanstein Schloss from Munich is by Train from platform 27-36. Your destination would be Fussen. After reaching Fussen, there will be plenty of buses available to go to Hohenshwangau ticket centre. There are 3 ways to proceed to the Castle after buying the tickets. You can take a horse carriage or the bus. The healthiest option is to walk up to the Castle. The walk will take between 20-30 minutes.
Neuschwanstein tickets
Tickets for Neuschwanstein Schloss can only be bought at the ticket centre in the village of Hohenshwangau below the castle. Only guided tours are allowed inside the Neuschwanstein Castle. The ticket will mention the exact time for the entrance and tour of the castle. German punctuality is notorious and hence it is wise to be on time, otherwise entrance will be denied. The price of the ticker is 12 euros. The ticket office is open from 9am-330pm between Oct 16th- Mar 31st. The timings for rest of the year is 8am-530pm.
Tickets for a specific time can be reserved in advance provided it is done 2 days prior and until 3pm. Visit Neuschwanstein Castle tickets for advance reservation online.
Neuschwanstein Castle is closed on January 1st. Dec 24th, 25th & 31st.
Hotel Neuschwanstein
Schlossrestaurant Neuschwanstein is the most convenient if you are looking for a Hotel in Neuschwanstein. It is famous for Bavarian food and free parking! Email contact is [email protected]
Neuschwanstein Weather
The months with best weather to visit the most magnificent of all German castles would be September & October. Located in Bavarian Alps, Neuschwanstein Schloss will be snowy and cold during November to April. In January and Februaury, the average temperature around this German castle would be below freezing! Snow would be more than an inch. Summer months are milder but the crowds are a negative, considering Neuschwanstein schloss is the most famous of all German castles.
Neuschwanstein Tour
The guided tours to Neuschwanstein Castle are available in German and English. For speakers of other languages, Audio tours are available in Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Slovenian, Russian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Hungarian, Greek, Dutch, Arabic, Korean and Thai.
Tips for tour of Neuschwanstein Schloss
The most important thing to note is the timing of your ticket and guided tour. Keeping in mind that it will take 30 minutes to reach the castle, you need to plan the rest of the itinerary. If there is more than an hour to the start of the tour, then you can visit Mary’s bridge on your way up. The bridge is located behind the castle and provides spectacular views of the fairy tale castle of Neuschwanstein. The other option is to visit the Bridge after the tour of Neuschwanstein Castle ends.
Neuschwanstein & history of German castles
Ludwig II had ascended the throne of Bavaria at an early age of 18. Soon he waged a major war with Prussia and lost sovereignty. This unsettled him and he became reclusive. He built Neuschwanstein Schloss in 1868 as a refuge from the world outside. Neuschwanstein schloss, one of the most famous German castles, reflected the fantasy world of the mad king of Bavaria. Ludwig II was passionate about music, dance and drama. He was an admirer and supporter of Richard Wagner the composer. Neuschwanstein Schloss was built in Wagner’s honor and many of the castle’s rooms are named and based on Wagner’s characters. In fact the name Neuschwanstein itself means New Swan Stone and is derived from Swan Knight, a character of Wagner.
Neuschwanstein Schloss, highlights of the German castle
The throne hall is magnificent and is in Byzantine style. Steps made of marble lead to the platform where a gold and ivory throne was to be placed. The throne room is adorned by a magnificent painting of the 12 apostles and 6 canonized kings. The large chandelier is another attraction in the throne room. It is made of gilded brass and in the shape of a Byzantine crown, holding 96 candles. Since it weights a ton, a winch is used today to clean it! The flooring is made up of mosaic tiles depicting animals and plants from all around the world.
The dining room is based on a theme from the Wartburg Castle. The paintings depict life and times of the legendary Singers contest around 1207. Ferdinand Piloty of Munich did most of the paintings in this room. The star attraction of the Dining room is the Magic Table. The table is set for a meal and is pulled by winches kitchen to the dining room over 3 floors, technically impossible for those times. Meals came up by a food lift, like in no other German castle!
The balcony offers picture postcard views of the Bavarian Alps and other German castles. One can see Thannheimer mountains, Alpsee lake, Schwansee lake and the old castle of Schwanstein now called as Hohenschwangau.
There is a small but very ornately decorated Chapel. An ivory crucifix stands right in the middle of the altar. Paintings depict the life and times of King Ludwig IX of France.
Ludwig II was lonely by nature and had a fancy for extravagant bedrooms. The bedrooms were built in neo-Gothic style As many as 14 sculptors worked for 4.5 years to complete the bedroom. At the foot of the bed are woodcarvings that reflect resurrection of Christ. The wall paintings are based on an opera by Richard Wagner. An amazing fact is that the wash basin had running water coming from 660 ft above the castle.
The kitchen of Neuschwanstein Schloss was ultra modern by standards of German castles, fully loaded with hot and cold running water, grill, fully automatic turning spits for game and poultry. The entire castle was centrally heated by warm air from the cellar and the ground floor.
Leonardo da Vinci & German castles
An invention of Leonanardo da Vinci helped operate the spit. A turbine in a large pipe above the spit was turned by rising hot air in the chomney and this in turn operated the spit.
Fate of King Ludwig II of Bavaria
One june 11, 1886, a commission sent from Munich declared King Ludwig II, unfit to rule Bavaria and imprisoned him at castle Berg near Lake Starnberg. The eccentric life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria came to a mysterious end when he was found drowned in the Lake on June 13 1886.
Mary’s Bridge near Neuschwanstein schloss
Marienbrucke or Queen Mary’s Bridge is a technological masterpiece of its time. Built before Neuschwanstein schloss in 1866, the bridge is named after Ludwig’s mother and spans the Poellat gorge in a curve over a height of 300 feet. The best view of Neuschwanstein schloss is from the middle of this bridge. The bridge leads to the hunting lodge on the Tegelberg Mountain, converted into a restaurant today. It is a 3 hour walk to the top to give a splendid view of the surrounding German castles.
Strange facts about Neushwanstein Schloss
After all that he went through to realize his dream, Ludwig II spent only 11 nights at the Castle.
Neuschwanstein Schloss is one of the most photographed German castles and buildings in the world, even though photography is not allowed inside the castle.
The medieval looking German castle was build long after the medieval times in late 19th century and served no defensive purpose.
The throne room of the German castle has no throne. It couldn’t be completed before Ludwig’s untimely death.
The magnificent Neuschwanstein Schloss was not designed by an architect! It is the only German castle designed by a theatrical designer.
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