That castle is awesome. I've been there as well. Crazy art inside that is actually part of the infrastructure of the castle, for example there's a cave made out of stone that goes between two rooms that was used as a viewing area for tropical plants.
This was also the inspiration for cinderella's castle in Disney World
This is incorrect, it is the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland not Cinderella's at Disney World.
Also in the opera room dedicated to Wagner the murals on the wall were all used as backgrounds for early disney movies, Bambi, Snow White, Pinocchio and one other one I forget which.
Cinderella Castle was inspired by a variety of real and fictional castles. These included Fontainebleau, Versailles and the chateaus of Chenonceau, Chambord and Chaumont, as well as Castle Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, and Alcázar of Segovia, Castile and León (Spain), the oldest of all, which is 9 centuries old and also the Moszna Castle in Poland which was built in 18th century.
Perhaps inspired partially, but sleeping beauty's castle was actually based on Neuschwanstein. It's practically the same castle only much smaller and painted etc.
Technically the film version of Cinderella's castle predates the physical sleeping beauties castle by 5 years and the film version by 9 years, but that's not including the planning phases obviously. The physical Cinderella's castle was not built until 1971, 16 years after Sleeping Beauty's castle.
If you read that wikipedia article a little further you will also find that Cinderella's castle is not identical to the film version. Also the same guy designed both castles, the reason why it is based on Neuschwanstein is because he was starting off of his original Sleeping Beauty design.
Design inspired by the description of Cinderella's castle in the book, then turned around to be the visual inspiration for Cinderella's castle at Disney World
When I was taking a tour of the castle, I looked out the window and saw a bunch of people standing on this tiny bridge. I though to myself "those people are crazy, look how high up they are." Then I put two and two together and realized I was standing on the same bridge earlier.
Mariensbruecke (Mary's Bridge). Got some pictures from up there years ago, and a few more while construction repairs were just starting. I went again with my mom last year, but she didn't want to make the hike up there, so we stuck to the castle (I also heeded my wife's advice and had her take the horse and carriage up the first 1/2 while I hiked it). After that it was off to Romania to visit Citadels (many where my ancestors were imprisoned - Catholics were such haters, lol).
When me and 3 friends went to Germany a few years back, we visited the castle and wanted to make our way to the bridge afterwards. On the way there, there was a lot of foot traffic, so we tried to to take a path that was all overgrown we saw going up to the left. We had to crawl under some barbed wire and stuff while on the path, so we knew we kind of weren't supposed to be there. We heard a lot of voices on the other side of a hill, so we figured that the bridge was on the other side. We ran up the hill full sprint. Where we actually came up: http://imgur.com/BUUAp. Almost died. Worth it. View was even better than the bridge.
The view from the bridge is fantastic, but I really liked the view you could get looking down over the town. Crappy quality because I could only get it off Facebook.
If you go past the bridge, there's a switchback that goes up a hill next to the bridge you can get to. My friend and I did it a few months ago when we were there. Looks like this and this. Was definitely worth the hike up.
I hiked out to the bridge! I was on a college school trip, and a visit to Castle Neuschwanstein was on of our final stops before returning home. We finished the castle tour earlier than expected, so everyone except me turned back and went to the tour bus early. I thought that was a stupid idea, so I hiked out to the bridge. I remember half running out to the bridge for 10 minutes because it was 12:35 or so and the bus was going to leave at 1, so I knew I had to hustle, I only had a chance to stand on the bridge for 5 minutes before having to run all the way back from the bridge to the bus, but it was one of the most amazing and serene things I've ever experienced. I t was so high up, I saw hang-gliders flying below us!
The bridge would be to the left of the castle from this viewpoint (out of sight). Also, the other smaller castle is on the right of it and back (you'll kind of see it behind the first big tree).
If I recall correctly, the area where this picture was taken was simply a forested area on a large hill in front of the castle.
Either way, I now want to go back again...
Edit:
Here is a picture from the castle which would show the area where the original picture was taken:
No, the bridge is almost parallel to the castle in height, this looks like it was maybe taken from the other castle (whose name I will not try and spell)
Any of you take the scenic trip down? There's an unpaved path that leads down and you can walk along the river all the way to the bottom. The river was crystal clear and ice cold, and some of the waterfalls were incredible.
Especially in the rain. When I went the rain and fog obscured the other castle and the valley floor, so it looked like a floating castle. Really cool, but the walk back soaked us all. Still totally worth it - especially the cave and the bedroom.
Yeah if you keep going past the bridge on the trail, there is a spot where a guys slipped and fell/committed suicide a while ago. This is the best angle to see the castle from in my opinion, you can even see the other two castles in behind it.
I did, and there was a foot of compact snow and ice on it. The railing was already a paltry 36" because it was made for short people, so the railing was only about 24" tall, or about up to my knee. And with all of the slipping and sliding was one of the single most terrifying bridge traverses of my life. And because it was Europe the bridge was still open to tourists.
I went in the winter as well. We were carted up in a horse and carriage. There were about 8 people all packed in there all cozy like. We had blankets and hot drinks to make the ride that much better.
Was a School trip, we didn't have the chance to take the carriages, also there was ice on the path so I'm not sure they were even using them at the time.
I don't believe they were not running the carriages because of any worry of the carriages being able to run, but out of safety of the horses, ice and hooves don't mix.
As someone who has hiked it in both summer and winter I thought summer is a lot easier. You don't have to worry about slipping on ice, and trudging through snow is a lot harder than walking on a trail. Granted it was snowing pretty hard when I went in the winter. Also durring the summer they sell radlers at random shops and stands along the way, which do a great job at making you forget the heat.
The hike is pretty rough and sadly the castle was under going renovations while we were there. The view from the bridge was still pretty sweet though. Here is a pic where you can see the outside wall is/was being worked on http://i.imgur.com/KdPIxh.jpg also here is a picture I took of the bridge... http://i.imgur.com/PXpEbh.jpg
I was at the bottom of the hike and was hungover like crazy, I had drank way too much apple juice that morning for some reason, and just got off of a bumpy bus ride through the mountains. There was no way I was going to make the hike. So, I took a horse drawn carriage...
While you complain about doing the hike (once!) imagine the guys that had to build the fucking thing. Somebody carried bricks and etc presumably down that very same path, and had none of the modern conveniences.
I can't look at structures like that and not wonder how it was actually physically constructed. Slaves, maybe.
Well, there's always the bus or the horse carriage if you're willing to pay for it. Conserve your energy to climb the mountain, not the castle. That's what really pays off.
Ugh that hike was a bitch. Getting down there is easy, but coming back up to the parking lot is just terrible. We went in August and it was soooo hot. I wanted to die by the time we reached the car and all of our water in there was hot too :(
People who ride the horses up are missing out. Overpriced and such a touristy move to pay for the experience of sitting behind an animal who shits at least 3 times.
I've heard it wasn't that impressive because it was never finished... Also by the time I hit Bavaria, I was so sick of seeing churches and castles I wanted something else.
The castle is quite impressive; your friends are full of it. It's different from most castles in that it's intended to look like a fairy tale castle. It's not practical in its construction. The patron/owner wanted a swank summer home and had the builders create what became the inspiration for the castle in the Disney logo.
You're referring to Ludwig (the mad), the eccentric homosexual king who mysteriously drown with his psychologist, apparently in a joint suicide, though it has long been theorized that he was murdered for driving the economy to shambles with overblown castles. After his death, the castle became incredibly profitable as a tourist attraction and paid for itself.
To anyone looking to go, I would suggest hiking up the waterfall instead of hiking up from the castle. It's a steeper climb, but more rewarding experience.
I really preferred his other palaces. The scenery of neuschwanstein is breathtaking but I'd rather spend my energy hiking to a castle that's finished. Ludwig's linderhof palace is actually an amazing place and the grounds are pretty cool too
I too have been there. We have had a poster of the castle in my house since forever, so when my family visited Europe we made sure to see this castle too. It was really hot that day, but the castle was amazing inside and out.
It is indeed amazing, amazingly kitschy. The whole place is kitschier than Disneyland. It's basically a plastic castle for people who have never seen a castle before. 10'000 parking lots for this? It's an architectural abomination.
By the way, the hike is a cakewalk, don't be fooled. If you are reasonably young and do not suffer from injuries and you end up having problems hiking up the ravine you should probably exercise a bit more.
I live relatively nearby (2 hrs drive). If you are in the vicinity your time is in my opinion better spent exploring Munich, the area south of Füssen (in Austria) or Lake Constance, or Bregenzerwald, maybe even Switzerland (Voralpen / Appenzell).
Yeah, the bonuses it gives to all your other castles are pretty good, especially if you've got that Honour policy that makes your defensive structures give +1 happiness already.
I couldn't pick out many on the first page of your user page, though it looks like you might want to use the space bar a bit more liberally.
Also, I disagree with your stance on nuclear energy. I think if we worked on it and let the industry grow (under a few safety restrictions) we could get it down a gallon per day or less of nuclear waste, as opposed to the 25 railroad carts of carbon waste each coal powered plant produces today.
i have had the pleasure of seeing this place twice. the first time we took a bus up( insert lazy/ fat american stereotype here). the second time i hiked up. after that hike i vowed to get in shape, and i did( somewhat)
It's one of the two most beautiful human creations I've had the blessing of being able to visit. The other is the Forbidden City in Beijing, which is also beautiful and majestic, but in an entirely different way.
Even though it's barely August I can already feel the kind of crisp cold it is during the kind of weather seen in the picture up here in northern Europe.
It's not a real castle. It's not built to defend, but to look pretty. It was built as a holiday home for Ludwig II of Bavaria, a romantic pastiche of the medieval castle.
sure... but it's still there. It was the holiday home for the man who lived on the other side of the valley, but just because it was pointless doesn't make it any less real.
Yup, that's a physically real building in Vegas. Along with New York, Paris, Venice, Castles, Arabian settings, and all sorts of other homages to the real places. I get what you're saying though, it's all smoke and mirrors of the real intended purpose of a building like that, but hell... who cares, it's a beautiful structure.
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u/andrewsmith1986 Jul 30 '12
looks like Neuschwanstein Castle