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GERMANY 77
Castle Building~
Neuschwanstein is the
archetypal fairy-tale
castle. It has provided
the inspiration for
countless toy models,
book illustrations,
and movie sets.
Throne Room ~ A Courtyard
The heart of the castle LUDWIG'S BUILDINGS
was supposed to have Today, King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845~6)
been a mighty 295-ft
(90-m) high tower with is known above all for his extravagant building
¥Vestibule a Gothic castle church. projects, which include the royal villa of
It was never built, but Linderhof, near Neuschwanstein, and the
in 1988 its planned palace at Herrenchiemsee in eastern Bavaria.
position was marked in
white stone. While Neuschwanstein was an attempt to
re-create the building styles of the Middle
Ages (castle building), Herrenchiemsee was
inspired by the Chateau de Versailles in France.
Linderhof was originally a hunting lodge
which, from 1869 onward, was repeatedly
rebui It, its interior shaped largely by Ludwig's
fantasy world. The main inspiration here, as
at H errenchi em see, was the French Rococo
style of Louis XIV (Rococo Style, see p.72), as
Dining Room~ is evident from the G obelin tapestries that
Like many other rooms in adorn the Tapestry Room.
the palace, the dining
room includes fabulous
pictures, intricately carved A MODERN CASTLE
panels and beautifully The medieval character of Neuschwanstein
decor a ted furniture, is illusory, for hidden behind the fa~ade is
all bearing witness to what was, for the period, state-of -the-art
the skill and artistry of
19th-century craftsmen. technology. The royal chambers, for example,
all have central heating and there is running
water on every floor with both hot and cold
water in the kitchens. There is a dumb waiter
linking the kitchens with the dining room.
The third and fourth floors of the castle even
have telephone jacks and an electric bell
system, which Ludwig could use to summon
his servants and adjutants (assistants)
PICTURE CYCLE
Ludwig's choice of interior decor was inspired
Main A Singing Room
entrance The Sangersa al was modeled by the operas of German composer Richard
on the singing room at Wagner ( 1813-83). Yet, although Ludwig
Wartburg Castle in Eisenach.
commissioned set painter Christian Jank to
create the interior design, most of the murals
depict scenes taken not from operas, but from
-<Tapestry Room in another of
Ludwig's palaces, linderhof. the same medieval sagas that Wagner himself
used as a source. They feature Tannhauser, a
..._
poet Lohengrin, the Knight of the Swan, and
KEY DATES Parsifal, King of the Holy Grail. Murals in the
~ t 1868 1869 1873 1880 1884 1886 1891 Singing Room show one of the legendary
' singing contests held at Wartburg Castle in
Ludwig rrskes The foundation The gatehouse is A ceremony Ludwig occupies Seven weeks The castle is
known his plans stone is laid. The constructed; the rrsrks the the castle but after Ludwig ll's completed, the 13th century .. Scenes from Wagner's opera
to build a king hopes the king lives there completion of dies soon after death, the castle but many of Lohengrin (1846-48) decorate the King's
newcastle. work will take for a number all fwe floors. in mysterious is opened to the rooms are
just three years. of years. circumstances. visitors. left bare. Chambers. Josef Jljgner and Ferdinand Piloty
were among the artists employed.
