Neuschwanstein Castle (German:
Schloss Neuschwanstein, English: "New Swanstone Castle" is a
nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village
of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was
commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard
Wagner. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and by means of
extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds. The palace was
intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the
paying public immediately after his death in 1886.
The construction costs of Neuschwanstein in the king's
lifetime amounted to 6.2 million
marks, almost twice the initial cost estimate of 3.2
million marks. As his private means were insufficient for his increasingly
escalating construction projects, the king continuously opened new lines of
credit.Even after his debts had reached 14 million marks, Ludwig
insisted on continuation of his architectural projects; he threatened suicide
if his creditors seized his palaces. In early 1886, Ludwig asked his
cabinet for a credit of 6 million marks, which was denied.
In June the Bavarian government decided to depose the king,
who was living at Neuschwanstein at the time. On June 9 he was incapacitated,
and on June 10 he had the deposition commission arrested in the gatehouse. A
second commission headed by
Bernhard von Gudden arrived on the next day, and the king
was forced to leave the palace that night. Ludwig was put under the supervision
of von Gudden. On June 13, both died under mysterious circumstances in the
shallow shore water of
Lake Starnberg near
Berg Castle. At the time of Ludwig's death the palace was
far from complete. He slept only 11 nights in the castle.
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| Outside view from the castle |
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| Throne Hall |
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| Hall of singers |
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| Inside the castle |
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