The Neuschwanstein Castlelocated at the foot of the Bavarian Alpsin Germany, is one of the most iconic and suggestive buildings in the world, known for his fairytale structure. Built between 1869 and 1886 at the behest of King Ludovico II of Bavaria, he reflects the love of the monarch for medieval legends and the works of Richard Wagner. Although conceived as personal refugewas never completed, but became one of Germany’s main tourist attractions, also inspiring the famous castle of Disney.
The Castle of Neuschwanstein (which in Italian means “new swan stone”) can only arouse wonder in those who observe it. With any light and in any season, the effect is precisely that of a postcard: the white central body and the numerous towers that lean on it literally emerge from a rocky spur surrounded by gorges and dark forests, according to an aesthetic that leaves little to chance.
Depending on the observer’s point of view, the cultivated fields and the mirrors of water that follow one -sided in the horizon in a pastoral frame worthy of a nineteenth -century canvas or the suggestive alpine surveys could be founded.
The construction of the castle began in 1869 on the initiative of the king Ludovico II of Bavariaalso known as “the crazy king” or “the king of fairy tales”. Ludovico II, who died before seeing the completed castle, was a cultured and reserved monarch, not very interested in politics and much more attracted by art, music and medieval myths. In particular, he loved the Germanic legends, the works of the German composer Richard Wagner And the idea of a romantic dimension that badly reconciled with its institutional obligations. In fact, Neuschwanstein was designed to be the personal refuge of Ludovico II, a place where you can isolate itself from the world and escape from the squalor of everyday life and official commitments of court life. The name itself, “Neuschwanstein”, means “new swan Rocca”, in homage to the symbol of swanrecurring element in Wagner’s works and connected to the territorial identity of the neighbor County of Schwangauliterally “County of Swan”.
Although it highly refers to the medieval imagination, we must remind us that the Neuschwanstein Castle is a work of the 19th century, therefore made with the use of rather techniques and technologies modernas for example a central hot air heating system and electric bells to call domestic and servants.
Inside, each room is a tribute to the world of Wagner’s legends and works. The throne room, never completed, is decorated with reasons Byzantine; The Sala dei Cantori recalls the Saga del Grail And three characters appear recurrently: the poet Tannhäuser, the swan knight Lohengrin and his father, the king of the Grail Parsifal. The element of swan He finds himself in many images of the castle and is a symbol of purity as well as, in fact, of the Schwangau County.
Despite the ambitions and huge investments of Ludovico II, the Castle it did not come completeAto before the death of the monarch, which took place in mysterious circumstances in 1886 Even today, it is not clear whether Ludovico II had really serious psychological disorders or was only the victim of a world that did not understand and that, in turn, did not understand his point of view. According to some, Ludovico was completely out of control and unable to correctly govern the kingdom, according to others, he simply tried to live in his world of fantasy and chivalrous legends.
Since 1886, therefore, the Neuschwanstein castle has been open to the public and has been visited by about 60 million people. That place, originally designed as a refuge, thus became one of the most visited tourist destinations in Germany, with numerous hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. Over time it has become a real icon, even fascinating Walt Disneywhich was inspired by it for the castles of its numerous works.
