Eternal Mystery History
This is castle Neuschwanstein built on the edge of the Tyrol mountains in southern Germany by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The King was a reclusive sort and he dreamt of a fantasy castle out of the legends from the era of knights and the holy grail. By his own account he wished to be an "eternal mystery" and held himself aloof from society, and dreamed of constructing this fantastic retreat from the world.
It truly is one of the most magnificent castles in the world and in an absolutely spectacular location. The final chapter of King Ludwig's story is a sad one, while he stayed in the castle during construction, he never lived to see the completion. His dreams were beyond the capacity of the Bavarian Kingdom's finances, and he was eventually declared insane by the government and deposed, dying under mysterious circumstances after being interned in Berg Palace.
I'm not sure what moral, if any, to take from this story, or if its just a sad story. Seen as a piece of art, it is possibly the finest example of castle architecture anywhere. Millions visit it each year now and it is supposedly the inspiration for Disney's "princess castle". So like many a great artist through history, his artistic vision and passion ultimately drove him mad, but had a lasting impact which only grows over time.
Photo taken on a recent visit to Munich Germany, where I had a free weekend so decided to see if any fall colors were still clinging to the hills around the castle. I was pleasantly surprised to find some pockets of color still remaining. It's a nice hike up to the Marienbrücke bridge that looks across to the castle. I highly recommend doing it in the early morning. I did it first at sunset and there were so many tourists bashing about the bridge that it wouldn't stop shaking long enough to get a decent shot. In the morning though, I saw only one other couple in an hour wandering around up there.
Eternal Mystery History
This is castle Neuschwanstein built on the edge of the Tyrol mountains in southern Germany by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The King was a reclusive sort and he dreamt of a fantasy castle out of the legends from the era of knights and the holy grail. By his own account he wished to be an "eternal mystery" and held himself aloof from society, and dreamed of constructing this fantastic retreat from the world.
It truly is one of the most magnificent castles in the world and in an absolutely spectacular location. The final chapter of King Ludwig's story is a sad one, while he stayed in the castle during construction, he never lived to see the completion. His dreams were beyond the capacity of the Bavarian Kingdom's finances, and he was eventually declared insane by the government and deposed, dying under mysterious circumstances after being interned in Berg Palace.
I'm not sure what moral, if any, to take from this story, or if its just a sad story. Seen as a piece of art, it is possibly the finest example of castle architecture anywhere. Millions visit it each year now and it is supposedly the inspiration for Disney's "princess castle". So like many a great artist through history, his artistic vision and passion ultimately drove him mad, but had a lasting impact which only grows over time.
Photo taken on a recent visit to Munich Germany, where I had a free weekend so decided to see if any fall colors were still clinging to the hills around the castle. I was pleasantly surprised to find some pockets of color still remaining. It's a nice hike up to the Marienbrücke bridge that looks across to the castle. I highly recommend doing it in the early morning. I did it first at sunset and there were so many tourists bashing about the bridge that it wouldn't stop shaking long enough to get a decent shot. In the morning though, I saw only one other couple in an hour wandering around up there.