Thursday 29th September 2011 – Innsbruck to Lenting (near Munich)

We had a lovely drive through the mountains this morning to Hohenschwangau in Germany where I had booked a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle.  This is a really amazing spot, the castle is something out of a fairytale building with great views of alpine lakes, especially the Alpsee.  The story behind the castle is pretty amazing too.

The Alps near Innsbruck

Neuschwanstein Castle was commenced in 1869 so is not that old compared to most castles.  It was built by Bavarian King Ludwig II to replicate medieval architecture and to pay homage to the operas of Wagner.  Ludwig had always wanted a medieval castle, so he had Neuschwanstein built in what you might call a neo-Romanesque style. That is to say, it was made to look a lot older than it really was, and unlike authentic medieval castles, it had such luxuries as forced-air heating and indoor plumbing. But the most distinctive feature of the castle was that it was designed to be a stage for Wagner’s operas, both literally and figuratively. Some rooms were designed explicitly as places where an opera might be performed, but in every room and corridor of the castle the architecture and artwork reflected the German mythology that formed the basis of Wagner’s operas.  One of the most unusual rooms—if you can call it that—is called the Grotto. It’s actually an incredibly convincing artificial cave, complete with stalactites and a waterfall. The Grotto was intended to represent a cave from Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser.”

Neuschwanstein Castle

Around the time construction began, estimates were that Ludwig would be able to move into the castle within about three years. But the work proceeded at a painfully slow pace and more than a decade later, the castle was still not complete. In 1883 Wagner died, causing Ludwig tremendous grief. So the composer never actually set foot inside the castle that had been built in his honour. A year later, Ludwig decided to move in, even though the structure was still unfinished and the throne room was not yet ready to hold a throne. But the king resided there for a grand total of only eleven nights.

View from the castle

The reality was that Ludwig was heavily in debt.  When the banks threatened to seize his property (this was 1886 remember) the government had him certified insane and interned him in Berg Palace.  Here, on 13th June 1886, he died in Lake Starnberg – a tragic accident? suicide? murder? - no-one knows.   After his death construction on Neuschwanstein continued for another eight years. When the builders finally stopped, only a third of the rooms had been finished and decorated.

The tour of the castle was fascinating and the views really are amazing.  We had lunch at a pub in Hohenschwangau before setting off – good German tucker of goulash soup for Jill and bratwurst and potato and sauerkraut for me.

From Hohenschwangau, we had a two-hour drive north.  We only have a couple of days to get to Essen so there will be limited sightseeing along the way.  Skirting around Munich we are spending the night at Lenting, just off the A9/E45.

A seafood dinner in the restaurant next door – excellent.