The end of our route through Germany was through the south of Bavaria, where the famous three castles of the Mad King are located. If you think of a fairytale castle, you probably think of one similar to the one in the photo below: Neuschwanstein Castle. It is undoubtedly the most famous work of Ludwig II of Bavaria, a genuinely fascinating character. In addition to Neuschwanstein, the trio of the so-called “Castles of the Mad King” is completed by Linderhof Palace and Herrenchiemsee Palace, to which I would add Hohenschwangau Castle, the cradle of his madness. Let’s know a little more about each one!
Neuschwanstein Castle
This could be considered the only Castle of the Mad King, as the other two are more like palaces. Neuschwanstein Castle is today the great icon of tourism in Bavaria and Germany. Why? I guess it’s obvious. As a child who dreamed of great legendary heroes, he has always fantasized about being a fairytale king. And every monarch needs a castle, so in his early years of reign, he had this fantasy place built very close to Hohenschwangau, his father’s castle.
Neuschwanstein Castle, which did not receive this name until after his death, was begun in 1869, a few years after he acceded to the throne. However, Neuschwanstein never became the ideal retreat that Ludwig II dreamed of, as construction was delayed, and the costs made the project more expensive than expected. In fact, during his lifetime, he did not even live there for 200 days in total, and at the date of his death (June 1886), the construction was not finished.
Fortunately, the works were completed, and the castle opened to the public in a short time. If you go to visit (which we strongly recommend) do not just take the tour of the interior. It would be best if you went up to Mary’s Bridge, where all of us travelers have taken pictures like these. to be there would be worth the trip, as the castle is fascinating and the whole environment is beautiful. Ludwig II may have been crazy, but he had a good eye for the design and location of his castle.
Linderhof Palace
Ludwig II only saw the completion of one of his three “castles”: Linderhof Palace. Located in Oberammergau, about 50km east of Neuschwanstein, Linderhof sums up quite well the king’s supposed madness and his fascination for medieval knights like Parsifal or Lohengrin, as well as his admiration for the old absolutist kings, such as Louis XIV (better known as the “Sun King”). In fact, in Linderhof, he tried to imitate to a large extent the “look” of Versailles. He certainly did not fall short with the gardens.
In total, the park and gardens surrounding the palace cover about 50 hectares (you know, about 50 soccer fields) and can be visited independently of the palace if desired. One of the most beautiful and surprising places in the park is the Venusgrotte, a cave dedicated to Venus where the king enjoyed his favorite operas with some of the most significant technological advances of the time. And no less spectacular is the interior of the palace, with small rooms decorated in the most ostentatious way possible. But you’ll have to go and see it because you can’t take pictures.
Herrenchiemsee Palace
The third of the Mad King’s Castles is Herrenchiemsee Palace, located within Lake Chiemsee, 150km east of Linderhof. In this palace, Ludwig II strove to build a place similar to Versailles. Of Herrenchiemsee, we can not comment directly because we did not have time to visit it, but what we do know is that the Mad King did not enjoy it much either, since, His death, only 20 of the 70 projected rooms had been built. For us, it is a pending visit. Because it is on an island and can only be reached by boat, it has already won us over.
Bonus track: Hohenschwangau Castle
Although it is not exactly a castle of the Mad King, the visit of Hohenschwangau seems to us essential if you go on a trip to Bavaria. Due to its proximity to Neuschwanstein Castle (1 km approx.), it is usually combined the visit of both in the same morning. There, in Hohenschwangau, is where the myth probably began to be forged. Ludwig II spent many summers in the area playing with his siblings (and cousins as illustrious as the Empress Sisi), and in these lands, he began to fantasize about his future. Asking, he could see the progress of the Neuschwanstein works from his room.
Hohenschwangau is not as spectacular a castle as its neighbor (at least not the exterior), but it is worth a visit to understand a little better the life of Ludwig II and his time as an infant. It is not surprising that surrounded by castles (in the surroundings there were ruins of medieval fortresses) and stories of great knights represented in the murals of his father, that young man developed a certain delirium of grandeur, which was also permanently fed by the operas of his great friend Wagner. In short, and although here we have left it for the end, Hohenschwangau can be a good starting point to know the Castles of the Mad King and to know the entertaining history of Ludwig II.