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Hohenschwangau Prince Maximilian acquired the castle in 1832 which had been in ruins 700 years. He decided to create a fairy tale castle and as fantastic and picturesque as possible, with decorative towers and turrets,
oreils, portals, balconies, pillars, crenellated parapets, it was so enchanting that when the King's father, Ludwig I, saw it for the first time in 1844, he cried out in amazement,
"Hohenschwangau is truly a fairy tale castle" Here in the castle Ludwig found fuel for his mediaeval fantasies.
The Schwangau Knights died out in the 16th. century and the
castle became ruins. During the Napoleonic wars the castle was heavily damages
in 1800 and 1809. Until 1832 that was bought by King Maximilian the Ii and
converted into a jewel of German romanticism. It was restores in 1832-36 by renewed
artists of the romantic epoch, e.g. Mortiz von Schwind, Dominik Quaglio and many
others helped to rebuild it. Thanks to their work, 14 rooms were furnished and
may visited today. King Ludwig II spent most of his time at this
castle where he also received Richard Wagner who never visited his other
castles.
| The Chapel was the former arms and drinking hall,
was re-built into a chapel in neogothic style during the life of King
Maximilian II. Holy Mass is still celebrated here. |
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The Hall of the Swan-Knight. The former dining room is
famous for its impressive wall paintings, Scenes from the saga of the
swan knight Lohengrin. It has influence from the romantic
school. The chairs in the hall are covered by pressed leather
partly gilded. |
| Berchta Room: According to the Bavarian saga, Charlemagne,
the first great European, was born at the Reissmuhle of Gauting near the
Starnberg Lake. The wall paintings are devoted to him and his mother
Berchta. |
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The Living Room of the Queen. The wall paintings in the
castle of Hohenschwangau are mainly fresco paintings on Gypsum ground.
This room was restored in 1849. It has a big chandelier of silver,
decorated with swans, the heraldic picture of the castle. |
| The Hall of Heroes.- The paintings of this festive hall illustrate
the Wilkina Saga, part of the legends about Dietrich of Berne, which
were lost in Germany but preserved by a Norwegian copy of the 13th.
century. |
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The room of the Hohenstaufen. The Dressing and music room
of the King. The wall paintings in that room are devoted to the
Hohenstaufen dynasty. . Richard Wagner played here from his own works
for Ludwig II . |
| The Tasso Room.- The royal bedroom was painted according
to motifs of Italian poet Torquato Tasso. The pictures illustrate the
tale of Rinaldo and Armida of Tasso's La Gerusalemme Liberata. |
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The Authari Room. This room is named after the ancient
Bavarian saga of Authari, the King of Langobards, when he was wooing for
Princess Theodelinde, daughter of Duke Garibald I. Richard Wagner stayed
in this room during his visits to the castle. |
The castle of Hohenschwangau is situated in a marvelous
landscape.
| Grant, 21, from Nebraska, wrote: |
| I think this castle gets
overlooked quite a bit for its proximity to Neuschwanstein. I also
think it's the better of the two. Hohenschwangau has more
completed rooms to visit than it's large neighbor. The interior
also contains much more history and things of interest than
Neuschwanstein. Make sure you don't miss it. |
| Nancy, from Texas wrote: |
| Castle Hohenschwangau and
Neuschwanstein are located in the southern part of Germany. The views
from each castle is wonderful. Words can not describe how beautiful they
are and the history that each castle has to tell. One needs to just
experience it for their selves. |
| Gerry Meier, 40 from Missouri, wrote: |
| Hohenschwangau, the boyhood home of Mad Ludwig, is
situated in a beautiful region of Bavaria, quite near the Austrian
border. The castle can be seen from the windows of Neuschwanstein,
another of Ludwig's castle. If visiting these, be sure to go to both of
them. Hohenschwangau, the older of the two, is a shorter hike from
the visitors' parking lot, and just as beautiful. It is fun to
take a picture from one with the other in the background. |
| Fenir, age 18, from Germany wrote: |
| Hohenschwangau is a really nice castle right across
from castle Neuschwanstein. Although less impressive, it is much older
than its neighboring castle. King Ludwig of Bavaria and his brother grew
up in Hohenschwangau, which had been restored after long abandonment,
while neither of them lived long enough to witness the finishing of
Neuschwanstein. There are a lot less tourists in Hohenschwangau and it is definitely
worth seeing. |
| Kamila, age 17, from Maryland wrote: |
| Built by Maximillian II, father of the later king Ludwig
II, this castle, neighbors the Neuschwanstein castle. It is very similar to
Neuschwanstein , since it too posses that fairytale look. Lying lower then
Neuschwanstein,
it is much less of a walk up. Although all rooms in this castle were
completed not all are open to the public. But those that are truly the
work of beauty. |
| Scott, from California wrote: |
| Hohenschwangau was where Mad King Ludwig spent his boyhood
years. It is a wonderful example of a castle that was actually a home. I
walked up to Neuschwanstein Castle first, and then over to this one, and
truly felt this was the better of the two. If you speak German, the German
tour gives much more information than the English one... and there are
several beautiful views of Neuschwanstein Castle from several windows
here... |
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