Address: Germany, Bavaria, near Fussen
Start of construction: 1832 year
Completion of construction: 1836 year
Architect: Domenico Cavallo
Coordinates: 47 ° 33'20.4 "N 10 ° 44'10.5" E
Content:
Short description
In the small Bavarian village of Schwangau, which is located in a wooded area in southern Germany, there is one of the most beautiful castles in Europe - Hohenschwangau Castle.
A bird's eye view of the castle
Almost every tourist who comes to Germany to get acquainted with the sights of the country dreams of visiting this amazing place, which at one time was the favorite residence of the Bavarian kings. Even the very name of the castle, which literally translates into Russian as "high swan land", cannot fail to interest the guest of Bavaria. If you look at the photographs of Hohenschwangau, taken from a bird's eye view, it may seem that the castle has grown in the middle of a dense forest, and there is not a single path that would lead to an architectural masterpiece.
Naturally, this is not the case, Hohenschwangau, as well as Neuschwanstein located directly opposite it, are considered one of the main points on tourist routes: numerous excursions are constantly organized to them, and some guests of Bavaria, using tourist avenues, get to the architectural masterpieces on their own. Therefore, there are paths, and even roads with high-quality asphalt surfaces, they are simply hidden by architects among the trees in such a way that visitors get the feeling that they are in a fabulous place, where there is no place for the hustle and bustle of large cities.
Castle amid magnificent views of nature
By and large, Hohenschwangau was built with the goal of allowing members of royal families to be closer to amazing nature, to enjoy beautiful forests and a magnificent, crystal-clear lake located near two castles. Of particular interest among tourists is the fact that in Hohenschwangau most of his, alas, short life was spent by the famous "fairy king", on whose orders the Neuschwanstein Castle was built.
The “fairytale king” Ludwig II, despite his oddities and special worldview, which was not to the liking of the rulers of Bavaria, to say the least, managed to leave behind a huge number of architectural masterpieces. Most of them, including Neuschwanstein, the construction of which the young monarch watched from the balcony of Hohenschwangau, were inspired by German fairy tales and ... the music of the great Richard Wagner. However, this story, the end of which the modern police would call "dark", deserves special attention, however, as well as the history of the construction of the Hohenschwangau castle, which is currently on the balance sheet of the legendary Wittelsbach dynasty.
General view of the castle
Hohenschwangau castle - construction history
If you carefully study the ancient documents found by archaeologists and historians, you can draw a certain conclusion: more before the appearance of the Hohenschwangau castle, a fortress stood in its place... It was built specifically for the great knights of Schwangau in the 12th century, although it would be more correct to say that the exact date of its construction is unknown, it, called Schwanstein, is only first mentioned in chronicles dating back to the 12th century. All knights of Schwangau belonged to two dynasties: Hohenstaufen and Welf.
By the way, one of the princes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty went down in history as an ardent opponent of the Pope himself, for which, by the way, he was cursed by the Catholic Church, and more than once. The Schwangau fortress was not only their residence, but, as can be seen from history, a defensive fortification capable of withstanding a long siege. True, all two families broke off in the 16th century, and the fortress became an unnecessary building for anyone. During the invasion of Napoleon's troops, the Schwanstein fortification was turned into ruins.
View of the southwest facade of the castle
The king of great Bavaria, Maximilian II, while still being the crown prince, somehow arrived in this amazing land of forests and lakes. He walked to the ruins and, according to his contemporaries, was struck by the beauty that opened from the ruins of the fortress. Without thinking twice, Maximilian II buys the ruins of the fortress and the adjacent territory. The purchase of the ruins cost the crown prince 7,000 guilders, which did not hit his budget hard. Almost immediately after the deal, the future king of Bavaria ordered to restore some of the fortress premises and build new ones.
The castle was built six years after the acquisition of the fortress. The architect Domenico Cavallo managed to develop a plan for a building in the neo-Gothic style, which surprisingly naturally blended into the surrounding landscape. Many modern the architects, looking at Hohenschwangau, succumbing to emotions, enthusiastically say that the castle seemed to have grown on a rock at the whim of nature itself... Indeed, almost nothing remained of the gloomy fortress: in its place a unique castle with towers, painted in warm yellow, appeared.
View of the castle from the parking lot
Numerous balconies and turrets that could not be used for defense made Cavallo's creation truly fabulous. Father Maximilian II, who was distinguished by restraint in the manifestation of feelings, seeing the building that was erected by order of his son, shouted enthusiastically: “This is a fairy tale! This is a real castle of fairies! " By the way, the proud and majestic swan became the symbol of Hohenschwangau, which even in the 12th century flaunted on the coat of arms of the Schwangau dynasty.
Hohenschwangau - home of the "fairy king"
After Maximilian II departed to another world, one of his sons, Ludwig II, ascended the throne, who later received the nickname "fabulous" among the people. He loved this castle, because within its walls he could indulge in dreams of fabulous countries and the kind creatures inhabiting them. He did not marry, so his mother was always with him, who loved her son without memory, who, according to numerous documents drawn up at that time, suffered from a mental disorder.
View of the entrance to the castle
Whether it is true or not, it is no longer possible to prove, but there is no evidence that Ludwig II was prone to aggression or despondency. All his strangeness was only in the fact that he wanted to give himself and his people a fairy tale: on his order, the construction of numerous castles began, the appearance of which was inspired by the monarch by legends about the exploits of the Bavarian knights and their victories over evil forces. As mentioned above, one of the castles built by order of Ludwig II stands opposite Hohenschwangau and is called Neuschwanstein.
It was from the amazing beauty of the balconies of Hohenschwangau that the young Bavarian king watched the construction of the "new swan stone" almost all day, which translates into German as Neuschwanstein. The death of King Ludwig II put an end to the erection of magnificent castles and palaces in Bavaria, each of which undoubtedly deserves special attention. The very death of the monarch, who was removed from the throne and placed under the supervision of a psychiatrist, is covered with a dense veil of secrecy. It is no longer possible to investigate his murder (this is what historians believe): the king, according to his uncle's version, drowned with a psychiatrist in a beautiful lake near Hohenschwangau.
Castle courtyard
Hohenschwangau Castle - a fairy tale for tourists
In our age of technological progress, when life in megacities causes a lot of stress and disappointment, being in Hohenschwangau Castle is akin to traveling to a fairy tale or to a country inhabited only by kind mythical creatures. In this country, you can enjoy a picturesque forest, a fairytale castle and a beautiful lake in which proud swans swim.
Of particular interest is not only the neo-Gothic style of the castle itself, but also its interior decoration. In the living room of Queen Mary, you can see amazing paintings telling about the fate of the Schwanstein fortress, its proud knights from the Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties. In this room, on the wall, there is a portrait of Martin Luther, as well as paintings depicting the most ordinary people: grooms, servants who once served in the castle. By the way, on the second floor in the living room of his mother, the "fairy king" most often spent his time: looking at the paintings of the Medieval knights, he was transported into the past and created his own reality. On the second floor there is also the legendary piano, on which the great composer Wagner played at the request of the “strange king”.
Fountain - Swan
If you try to highlight one of the most beautiful premises of the Hohenschwangau castle (which is quite difficult), then this will probably be the Banquet Hall, which is quite often called in many tourist brochures, as "hall of knights" or "hall of heroes". There is a legendary "table with pictures" written according to the "Nibelungen saga". In addition, the walls are decorated with episodes of the Viking sagas. It was this Banquet Hall or “Hall of Heroes” that became the place where Ludwig II came up with the idea to build Neuschwanstein Castle.
Surprisingly, Hohenschwangau Castle was spared the world wars. Probably, it is precisely because of this that it is the most visited place in Bavaria, because each "stone" here is original and it did not have to be restored from the ruins, as, for example, in the case of the Charlottenburg Palace. According to official figures, more than 350,000 people come to the village of Schwangau every year to see the fabulous Hohenschwangau with their own eyes. A tourist who comes to the land of Bavarian forests and lakes should be aware that there is a shop in one of the many annexes of the castle: there you can buy unique souvenirs and gifts for loved ones, made, for the most part, by German craftsmen, by hand.
Fountain
If you manage to linger and stay in the vicinity of the village after dusk, you can take amazing night photos of Hohenschwangau Castle. Looking at them, you can really believe in the "fantastic origin" of the castle: between the mountains overgrown with majestic fir trees, the castle glows, which, as if by an absurd accident, ended up in our world, because its place is in a fairy tale, by the way, in the same fairy tale as castle Neuschwanstein.
