Neuschwanstein Castle
★★★★☆
Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The "fairy-tale" palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner, whom the king has greatly admired.
The castle was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king Ludwig, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.
Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer.
The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner; it embodies both the contemporaneous architectural fashion known as castle romanticism, and Ludwig II's immoderate enthusiasm for the operas of Richard Wagner.
Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds.
The castle was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king Ludwig, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.
Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer.
The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner; it embodies both the contemporaneous architectural fashion known as castle romanticism, and Ludwig II's immoderate enthusiasm for the operas of Richard Wagner.
Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds.
Reviews and impressions
Amy Redelinghuys
I was fortunate to experience this castle in the 1990's and found it to be breathtakingly beautiful.