First , the winner is: (with more entries than appear here):
Easy -- Neuschwanstein in southern Germany. Certainly not the
oldest
castle around, but rather good ol' King Ludwig's romanticized idea
of what a castle should look like. Has a beautiful singer's hall,
too.
Mad King Ludwig's castle in Bavaria, called Neushwanstein
(New Swan castle), is outside the town of Fussen. It was the
model for Disney's Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland. The
King ate dinner with his horse at the other end of the
banquet table (thats why he is called "Mad"). Its on one
of the 1st hills in thew foothills of the Alps and can be seen
>from the valley below.
Yes, Walt Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland
(probably at Walt Disney World, too - haven't been there) after
Neuschwanstein, but after you see the real thing there's really no
comparison. It's a wonderful place. Ludwig was fond of swans
('schwan' is swan in German, if you didn't already know that) so the
swan motif is repeated over and over throughout the castle, in his
bedchamber even the handles on the water faucets are swans heads.
Ludwig was also very enamored of Wagner's operas, to the point of
having some of his favorite scenes from different operas painted on
the walls of the rooms.
The castle was never completed, because Ludwig inconveniently died
(he
drowned in six inches of water, or something like that).
There's another Ludwig castle not too far from Neuschwanstein,
Hohenschwangau, that is supposed to be beautiful as well, but I
haven't
been there.
I think Neuschwanstein is my favorite--very fairy tale like.
Inside is lots of wood, which gives it a rich but warm look,
unlike the gaudier palaces dripping in gold. King Ludwig
seemed to know what he was doing on this one.
Basically, castles are palaces (homes where royalty lived) or
fortresses (up on the hill and generally not furnished, just a big
stone thing). Neuschwanstein seems to be a bit of both.
The best fairy tale, just like you have always thought it would be
castle is Neuschwenstein (sp?) castle in Germany, which is a day trip
>from Munich. Built in the 1800s by Mad king Ludwig who was
friends
with Wagner. This is the castle that Disney used as the inspiration
for the Castles in Disneyland.
Went to Europe in 1985 and did the
Castle tour. As the San Francisco
Chronicle said in an article printed in the summer of 1985. There are
only two type of castles that you must see. Ludwigs castles in Germany.
The rest are in France.
Ludwig II of Bavaria built three castles which are magnificant. Two
are must sees. Neuschwanstein (sp) which translates to new swans rock
and Linderhof are two classics. Newschwanstein was the castle Walt
Disney modled his Fantasyland castle after. These are located in
Southern Germany,
Bavaria.
One is the Royal Castles (of Ludwig II?) in southern Germany, within
a day's drive of Munich. There are 4 (I only saw 2), including the
famous Neuschwanstein (on which the Disney castle was modeled).
This castle was not completely finished, but the rooms that were,
including a throne room and ballroom, are quite impressive. Also,
the scenery is beautiful around there (edge of the mountains).
Neuschwanstein (sp?) is the ultimate fairyland castle, in Bavaria near
Austrian border. One of
Prince Ludwig's group of castles (he was a
little mad). This is reputed to be the one after which Disney
modelled
his fairyland castles. Ludwig was into Wagner, and there is a big
Wagner festival at the castle each year. Michelin rates it ***.
Oh, one of the great things about Mad Ludwig's castle is that it is
high
on a hill that overlooks a gorgeous valley. With each floor up, the
view
gets better.