Ok, it's finally time for the next castle!
We
won't go far. Just 2 kilometres from Neuschwanstein, you will
find another castle associated with Ludwig II and with a name difficult to pronounce: Hohenschwangau (
/Hoenʃvʌngʌʊ /).
Hohenschwangau means "High District of the Swan" and it was probably
named after the lake nearby (Schwansee) where Ludwig's mother would take
him to feed the swans in his childhood years. The swan would later
become an important motif in his castles.
I visited this castle twice too, both times just before heading to
Neuschwanstein. I'd guess that's the usual order of seeing these two
castles. After all, Hohenschwangau is situated on a lower hill.
But before talking about my experience, let's just write few words
about the history of this castle. The main difference between this one
and Neuschwanstein is that the latter was was built by Ludwig II
himself, while the former was built by his father, Maximilian II of
Bavaria. Or to be more precise, they gave orders to build the castles.
The only thing Ludwig II made in this castle were the twinkling lights
on the ceiling of his bedroom.
A closer look of the castle
At that time, Bavaria was an independent kingdom. Maximilian was one
of those people who was fighting against the German unification and was
very proud of his Bavarian heritage which he tried to advocate as much
as possible. That is why you can see many Bavarian symbols and scenes
from Germanic mythology in this castle.
He also showed great interest in a wide range of arts, namely literature; he was a great fan of Hans C. Andersen who actually visited him in Hohenschwangau castle.
And just like his son, Maximilian II went on to build and rebuild few castles in the area, with Hohenschwangau being the most notable of them. The first records actually date from 12th century, but Maximiliam II completed the restoration in 1855, more than 20 years after acquiring the ruins and the area nearby.
He decided to create a picturesque castle with decorative elements such as towers and turrets, oreils, portals, balconies, pillars...
The photo of young Ludwig II was found on this site and it features this very interesting story:
http://radiustours.wordpress.com/tag/christmas/
"One of my favourite Ludwig stories is from the Christmas of 1852, when the 7 year old who would later become mad King Ludwig II received as a fateful present from his grandfather, mad King Ludwig I. A set of building blocks.
This fired the childish imagination of young Luddi, and may have unlocked something deep within. “He loves to build,” wrote the impressed grandfather to his son, the child’s father Otto: “I witnessed him construct buildings that were exquisite, astonishing, and realised with excellent taste.”
“I recognise a real affinity between this future King Ludwig II and myself,”..."
He also showed great interest in a wide range of arts, namely literature; he was a great fan of Hans C. Andersen who actually visited him in Hohenschwangau castle.
And just like his son, Maximilian II went on to build and rebuild few castles in the area, with Hohenschwangau being the most notable of them. The first records actually date from 12th century, but Maximiliam II completed the restoration in 1855, more than 20 years after acquiring the ruins and the area nearby.
He decided to create a picturesque castle with decorative elements such as towers and turrets, oreils, portals, balconies, pillars...
 |
| Young Ludwig II building his first castle :) |
http://radiustours.wordpress.com/tag/christmas/
"One of my favourite Ludwig stories is from the Christmas of 1852, when the 7 year old who would later become mad King Ludwig II received as a fateful present from his grandfather, mad King Ludwig I. A set of building blocks.
This fired the childish imagination of young Luddi, and may have unlocked something deep within. “He loves to build,” wrote the impressed grandfather to his son, the child’s father Otto: “I witnessed him construct buildings that were exquisite, astonishing, and realised with excellent taste.”
“I recognise a real affinity between this future King Ludwig II and myself,”..."
Yep, it runs in the family. Ludwig I was an art lover and
he built numerous buildings in neoclassical style, most of them in
Munich. Another trivia related to Ludwig I: On the occasion of his
marriage on a huge meadow outside of the city walls of
Munich on October 17, 1810, the first Oktober was held! Castles +
Oktoberfest - Bavarians living today should certainly thank this royal
family.
Hohenschwangau was
the official summer and hunting residence of the king and his family and
it feels more spartan (but don't expect Middle Ages!) compared to
Neuschwanstein and other castles that Ludwig II built himself.
After the death of his father, Ludwig II took over his father's room
(he lived in an annexe next to the castle before that) and lived
together with his mother. From 1869 until his death in 1880, he closely
inspected the construction of Neuschwanstein from this castle.
Unlike
Neuschwanstein which was sold to the Bavarian Government,
Hohenschwangau is privately owned by the family and I guess that is the
reason why more rooms are not accessible to the average visitor.
As said when writing about Neuschwanstein, you can only visit this castle as a part of rushed guided tour.
So
the first thing that caught my eye was this huge guest book in the Reception Room and yes, I did manage to take a photo of it (hopefully
the family won't sue me :D)! Another interesting trivia:
the protestant reformer Martin Luther is said to have taken refuge at
this castle while hiding from authorities on his way to Wittenberg to
nail his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door. Since he was hiding, he naturally didn't sign, so it is always open for speculations I guess...
On a side note, writing this entry very late after the
first one made me realize how much have I already forgotten :( While I
hate taking hundreds of photos, it's good to have some to jog your
memory, if nothing else. Another important detail I managed to catch on
my camera was Wagner's piano. It is placed in the dressing room, but it
served as Ludwig's music room too. Wagner most probably played in it
just for Ludwig's pleasure.
What
I liked in this castle was the contrast between public and private
rooms. The private rooms aka bedrooms are much warmer in its exposition
and images than the public ones, especially The Hall of Heroes, which
looks like a show-off piece in my opinion. While public rooms are often
decorated with war and battle images, the king's bedroom is inspired by
Italian Renaissance and depicts naked girls having a good time. The
colours are just gorgeous.
The queen's bedroom is even more elegant, obviously inspired bythe Moorish style. Perhaps my favourite room in this castle.
It is obvious that someone lived there once upon a time. I can't say the same for Neuschwanstein- just think of the Throne Hall without a throne!
In the castle ground there is a souvenir shop which is expectedly overpriced. I bought one horseman only to realize few months later that the same one can be bought in China shop for much less :( Well, I was young and naive, I wouldn't do the same mistake again. Besides, nowadays I rarely buy souvenirs as most of them just collect dust on shelves and I barely look at them. So unless it's something unique and it really grabs me, I don't buy it. My friends are not happy about that, he he... I rather buy books about the places I've been to, it's far more useful and I actually read them.
Many tips that I have written about Neuschwanstein apply for this castle too. While Hohenschwangau receives a fraction of Neuschwanstein's visitors (300 000 compared to 1.3 million), it can still get very crowded and buying your ticket online in advance is usually a good idea.
Visitor info:
a) Opening hours:
The castle is open every day except on December 24.
From March 28 to October 15: 8:00-17:30
From October 16 to March 27: 9:00-15.30
b) Admission
Visit of the Tower plus a guided visit to the Apartments and the Cellars:
Adults € 12.00
| Students, Senior citizens over 65 years of age, disabled visitors when showing valid identification |
€ 11.00 | |||
| Groups, at least 15 members | € 11.00 | |||
| (This discount only applies if all tickets are bought and paid at the same time by one person) |
||||
| • Travel guides and coach drivers | free |
c) Contact
Official website: https://www.hohenschwangau.de/556.0.html
Adress
Ticket-Center Hohenschwangau
Alpseestrasse 12
D-87645 Hohenschwangau
D-87645 Hohenschwangau
Telefon: +49 (0) 83 62 - 93 08 30
Telefax: +49(0) 83 62 - 93 08 320
Telefax: +49(0) 83 62 - 93 08 320
E-mail address: info@ticket-center-hohenschwangau.de
d) Multimedia:
1. Ludwig II (1972)
