Hello,
While visiting Neuschwanstein, we also paid a visit to
Ludwig’s boyhood home, Hohenschwangau Castle, which sits solidly on lower ground, between the lake and Neuschwansein. Unfortunately, it is overlooked by many who come to see the more famous Neuschwanstein Castle, just up the hill.
But, don't pass it by! You will be pleasantly surprised. It’s historic, more lived in and gives a better insight to Ludwig’s early life.
Schloss Hohenschwangau was Mad King Ludwig's favorite boyhood residence. His family stayed there many summers where he spent hours exploring, hiking through the forests and developing his overactive imagination and love of fantasy.
Hohenschwangau Castle was originally built in the 12th century by the Knights of Schwangau. By 1523 the castle was declared inadequate for defense purposes. Through the centuries, it changed ownership several times until it was destroyed by Napoleon Bonaparte and fell in to decay and disrepair.
Crown Prince Maximilian of Bavaria loved its charm and purchased it. He rebuilt and renovated the castle between 1832 and 1836, employing the theater architect Dominik Quaglio to recreate a medieval dream castle.
However, unlike Ludwig’s more famous castle up the hill, the somewhat garishly yellow Hohenschwangau castle has the feeling of a noble home, where comfort is just as important as outward splendor. It soon became the favorite summer residence of King Maximilian II.
In addition to its 700-year history, Hohenschwangau castle has a nice collection of period furniture, fantasy murals, armaments, a large assortment of oil paintings, woodcarvings, icons, tapestries and curios from many centuries.
It was here that the young Ludwig met the composer Richard Wagner. Their friendship shaped and deepened the future king’s interest in theater, music and German mythology.
Fourteen rooms are on the tour of the castle and tributes to the Wittelsbach dyanasty are everywhere . Statues of Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian and Elector Maximilian I flank the entrance. Frescoed scenes of kings, knights, medieval heroes and fairy tales are on walls throughout.
The composer Richard Wagner often stayed at Hohenschwangau and his opera Lohengrin inspired the decoration of the Hall of the Knights of the Swan. The chairs and the huge chandelier have swan motifs and the centerpiece of the room is another swan, a wedding present to the king and queen from the citizens of Munich.
Hohenschwangau is full of fanciful items. I was impressed with the Queen’s Turkish style bedroom, which was a result of Maximilian’s visit to Turkey in 1833. It is furnished with settees given by Sultan Muhammad II.
Another curiosity is the bedroom of Prince Ludwig II. The ceiling is decorated to reproduce the night sky with stars that dramatically light up at night.
Here are some Tips For Your Visit to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles:
If you are traveling independently, get there as early as possible. The tour buses typically arrive in the afternoon and it can get very crowded.
The path to the castle starts in the village of Hohenschwangau. This is where you should park and buy your admission ticket before you set off for the castles.
Also if you have the chance to visit the Alpsee (lake), take the paddle boats out and you can get pictures from another perspective of both castles.
We recently took a trip to see Neuschwanstein Castle near Fuessen. There are Castles and there are Castles… And then there is Neuschwanstein.
After seeing Neuschwanstein Castle, or Schloß Neuschwanstein you can go home with all your childhood faith in fairy tales restored.
For Neuschwanstein is a Castle that looks like a Castle should.
Located in Southwest Bavaria, this beautiful fairytale castle was a remarkable project initiated by "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria, or more affectionally referred to as "The Fairy Tale King", son of King Maximilian II.
It sits perched high on the hill overlooking the border town of Schwangau and its sister castle, Hohenschwangau and was originally called “New Hohenschwangau Castle”. After King Ludwig’s death, it was re-named Neuschwanstein, the castle of the Swan Knight, Lohengrin, from of Wagner’s opera of the same name.
Although only 14 rooms were completed inside (due to the King's unexpected death in 1886), they are magnificent.
When seen from the distance, with the turrets rupturing the mist and an array of peaks in the background, it is easy to let the imagination run wild.
The foundation of Neuschwanstein Castle rests on a 3,300 foot shoulder of rock under towering mountain peaks and above the distant farmland surrounding the town of Fussen.
Hiking up the hill to the castle, and marveling at the immense size of the stunning architecture, I imagine the King surveying the surrounding countryside form the turret, 190 feet above the entrance. What a view he must have had!
Inside,you get a breathtaking view of the Alps, Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge) and Hohenschwangau Castle, King Ludwig’s boyhood home.
Neuschwanstein Castle is the most photographed sight in Germany and is one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Yes, there are lots and lots of tourists.
With that said, make sure to bring your camera and be prepared for long lines to enter the castle.
Since living in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we have been exploring the area on our bikes, enjoying the lovely scenary and learning lots of local history. Rencently, we took our new bikes for a trip to the Wieskirche, about a 50 mile ride.
First time visitors in the Wies, with no previous knowledge about the church, may well stand in wonder and ask themselves what could have possibly given rise to the building of such an unusually magnificent church in such a secluded place.
Indeed, something out of the ordinary, from many points of view, took place here. Human tears, an age-old phenomenon, were the spiritual building stones, the precious pearls from which the Wies Church, a world famous roccoco jewel, was created. In the 18th Century the Wies Church was already known throughout Europe as a place of reverence for the Scourged Saviour, and at the same time a famous gem of baroque architecture.
Even today the church lives from both these wellsprings: its spiritual and artistic richness. Thus, the Wies Church continues as a pilgrimage church, a place of prayer and worship, and is simultaneously a magical drawing point for millions of visitors. Through their encounter with this joyous Baroque, full of life and hope, they sense a world which moved the writer Peter Dörfler, in the first half of this century, to write: "The Wies is a bit of heaven in this suffering world."
The exterior is typical Bavarian Rococo with few decorations and serving predominantly to prevent the interior from falling apart. The well-lit interior is magnificent Bavarian Rococo—the lower parts of the walls representing earth rather bare with increasing decorations higher up as you approach heaven. It is a symphony of colors with the structural parts of the building masterfully integrated into the artwork. The huge oval cupola is perfectly suited for the painting of the second coming. In addition to Dominikus Zimmermann (architect and stucco artist), several further masters worked on this church including his brother Johann Baptist who did most of the paintings. Dominikus Zimmermann (1685-1766) spent his final ten years in the small house almost at its doorstep as he saw the church as his greatest accomplishment. Many critics go even further and consider this UNESCO Cultural World Heritage site the greatest accomplishment of the Bavarian Rococo.
Exploring the area around Garmisch, we recently took a hike from Garmisch-Partenkirchen up to the
82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Please note The King's House is only accessible on foot by means of a walk of 3-4 hours!
Hiking Trail and info to Haus Schachen
The ascend to the Schachentor demands stamina and good hiking boots and good condition are a must!
The view from tyeb Schachentor to the Schachen Haus.
The King's House, built from plans by Georg Dollmann in 1869 to 1872 on the Schachen Alp near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, was King Ludwig II's mountain refuge. The wooden post-and-infill structure in the form of a Swiss chalet has five living rooms downstairs with cembra wood panelling and a mixture of stylistic elements.
The whole of the upper floor, however, is taken up by the "Turkish Hall".
With its coloured glass windows, opulently embroidered textiles, peacock feathers and candelabra it reflects the fascination of the king (King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and his contemporaries with the Orient.
Hi,
A few days ago we took a walk around the Viaduc des Art, near the Gare de Lyon and ended up at a planted promenade, an elevated, sort of secret garden.The Promenade Plantee, as the French call it, is just that, a promenade that is simply full of plants. And, it's elevated. The Promenade Plantée is one of Paris' most secret gardens, a zealously-guarded place to stroll, muse, and enjoy the blooms. Its contemporary appeal is unbeatable: the long, narrow stretch of trees and planted flowers is built above-ground on what once was a railway track. A few lucky Parisians have direct views of the garden from their apartments, which themselves become part of the view for curious strollers.
The Promenade Plantée, which is also referred to by locals as "La Coulée Verte", stretches from Bastille through the area around Gare de Lyon and Bercy, all the way to the west entrance of the Bois de Vincennes.
In 1859, a railroad track for freight trains was constructed, a portion of which was elevated on a viaduct, connecting the station at Place de la Bastille, now removed and replaced with the Opera Bastille, to the station in Saint-Maur, 14 kilometers southeast of Paris, where the RET line A now runs.
In 1969, the use of this rail-line was discontinued. It was abandoned for years, becoming an eyesore in an already struggling neighborhood.
In the early 1990s, the City of Paris transformed this weed infested railroad track into the Promenade Plantee and Viaduct des Arts.
The abandoned viaduct Daumesnil, crumbling and scheduled to be demolished, has been transformed into the Viaduct des Arts. The original 70 red brick arches of the 1.5 kilometer viaduct have been restored, renovated and enclosed with glass and now house arts and crafts workshops, galleries, furniture showrooms, a restaurant and a café.The original idea was for the artists and crafts-people to work in view of passer-bys on the sidewalk. For several reasons, this proved to be impractical, though there are some artisans who can be viewed working.
Among the many studios of the Viaduct des Arts are cabinet-makers, sculptors, ceramicists, tapestry-makers, violin and flute makers, restorers of furniture and art objects and interior designers.The Viaduct des Arts was open to the public in 1998 though it wasn't completely finished until 2000. It has since become a contemporary Parisian landmark.
The elevated level offers interesting perspectives of the variety of buildings which the Promenade Plantee passes.
The Promenade passes closely by old and new apartment buildings, and once seems to go right through the building.
The mass of plant-life that borders and sometimes encroaches the already narrow trail can give the impression of being momentarily lost on a forest trail. Then, sporadically, there are breaks in the herbage, offering views of the surrounding city.
One of the more unusual sights is that of 12 reproductions of Michaelangelo's "The Dying Slave" which adorn, of all places, the top of the Police Station of the 12th arrondissement.
The original statue of "The Dying Slave" by Michelangelo is found in the Louvre Museum.
Among the plants that are found along this walk are hundreds of rose bushes, hardy shrubs, acanthus, triton, lavender, bamboo, ivies and vines and wisteria and cherry trees, maples, lime trees and many other varieties.
The Promenade has two consecutive narrow ponds (everything is narrow up here) each with maybe a duck or two and a rose arbor or two.
The walkway goes through an area of modern-styled apartment buildings, then it becomes a metal bridge which opens up onto a plaza with a four-foot high floor sundial.
Here is the Jardin de Reuilly, the Reuilly Garden. The entrance sign to the Jardin de Reuilly states that the Garden is situated near the ancient Chateau de Reuilly which was a vacation house for the Merovingian Kings.
More recently, the Jardin de Reuilly occupies the site of an old freight station. It includes a large circular central lawn, a series of beautifully planted terraces and walkways, a children's playground, statues, a rose garden and an open-air café. The main entrance to the Garden on Avenue Daumesnil is furnished with ramps making the Garden accessible for wheel-chairs and baby-strollers. One can either enjoy walking directly through the Garden, or traverse it by an arched, lightweight footbridge made of metal and wood that spans the central lawn of Jardin de Reuilly. It is the most elevated portion of this walk.
East of the Jardin de Reuilly is the Allée Vivaldi which basically runs through an office building plaza. Beyond this Allée, the Promenade splits into a pedestrian path and a bike lane and enters a gaping underpass that has five individual rock waterfalls within it. Once through this underpass the Promenade Plantée completely changes.
What was an elevated walkway has become a sunken walkway where both sides of the Promenade Plantee are bordered by 30-foot tall outward sloping hillsides. For those who don't like heights, here is where to begin. The walls are covered with foliage as are the borders along the walkway. It is a very interesting sensation to be suddenly below street level after having been above it for the past 1.5 kilometers. It is a lovely, cool walkway, sometimes under a canopy of tree boughs. It passes through two old railroad tunnels which have ivy dangling down over the arched entrances.
For those who may be missing the upper elevations, there are observation towers to climb along this part of the trail.The Promenade Plantee splits at Avenue Général Michel Bizot. The trail to the right leads to Square Charles Péguy which has a children's playground, ping-pong tables and a series of small multi-leveled ponds that cascade into one another. It's a quiet and comfortable small park.
The trail to the left at Avenue General Michel Bizot continues to the Périphérique (the freeway which encircles Paris) where there are ramping paths that branching to the left and to the right to residential streets. Continuing straight, there is a metal spiral staircase that leads up to Boulevard Carnot.The Bois de Vincennes is a few blocks to the south. Two streets to the north is Porte de Vincennes. A couple streets to the left (west) on Porte de Vincennes is the metro station Porte de Vincennes on line #1.
Le Parc Floral de Bagatelle
Now that Spring and fine weather has finally come to Paris, we took our bikes out at the spur of the moment and took a spin through the Bois de Bologne. It is in the very middle of the Bois de Boulogne, in the XVIth arrondissement of Paris, that we discovered the Jardin de Bagatelle.It was thanks to a bet between Marie-Antoinette and her brother-in-law the Count of Artois in 1777 that this splendid garden took form in only 64 days! Today it is considered as one of the capital's finest parks. It is easy to see why, when we admire the artificial rocks, the cascades, the little bridges over mirrors of water, the centuries-old trees...But what makes the reputation of the Jardin de Bagatelle, is without any doubt its magnificent rose garden, containing over 1,100 varieties. Every year since 1907, the famous New Roses competition has taken place in this rose garden.The Jardin de Bagatelle consists of a landscaped park, where it is pleasant to stroll and a large number of small themed gardens, the Nymphéas pool, the iris garden, the garden of hardy plants and even a kitchen garden.Now that Spring and the sun has returned to the Parc de Bagatelle, numerous concerts also liven up its pathways.For a lovely walk in this exceptional park, take the metro to station Pont de Neuilly then bus line 43, or Porte Maillot then bus line 244.
