{"id":7415,"date":"2022-10-25T19:30:26","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T17:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.passports.top\/?p=7415"},"modified":"2022-11-01T13:29:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T11:29:30","slug":"hohenschwangau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.passports.top\/en\/hohenschwangau\/","title":{"rendered":"The land of castles"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the southern part of\u00a0<\/span>Bavaria<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is the town of\u00a0<\/span>Hohenschwangau<\/span><\/strong>, in the area called the\u00a0<\/span>Romantic<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Road<\/strong> (<\/span>Romantische Stra<\/span><\/strong>\u00df<\/span><\/strong>e<\/span><\/strong><\/a>), part of the old Roman road “<\/span>Via Claudia Augusta<\/span><\/em>” that I mentioned in one of the previous posts (<\/span>Augsburg<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Here nature blends perfectly with German history, culture and art.\u00a0Whether you find them in the architecture of the castles, the daily life, the wooden sculptures found at every step or the paintings on the facades of the houses, you will surely be attracted by the wonderful “spectacle” offered by this area.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hohenschwangau<\/strong> is one of the largest tourist centers in the country, the most famous attraction of the area being Neuschwanstein<\/strong> Castle.\u00a0From the entrance to the town you are greeted by the distant view of the grandiose castle surrounded by mountains and gorges.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Known worldwide and being a model for the castles in the\u00a0Disneyland<\/a> Parks,\u00a0Neuschwanstein<\/strong> is a symbol of the Romantic-Renaissance era and was among the 21 finalists on the list of the “New 7 Wonders of the World<\/a>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The castle was built for King\u00a0Ludwig II<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 one of\u00a0Bavaria<\/em>‘s most beloved rulers. Born in 1845 in the largest palace built in the Baroque style in\u00a0Germany<\/em>\u00a0–\u00a0Nymphenburg<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0Munich<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(which I will write about in future articles),\u00a0Louis II<\/em>, also called the “mad king”, ordered the construction of the castle as a refuge, but also as a tribute to Richard Wagner<\/em>, the king being fascinated by the music and works of the great composer, as can be seen from the theme of the murals inside the castle. <\/span>Tourists can visit 15 of the many rooms, the castle never being finished due to the untimely and mysterious death of the king.<\/span><\/p>\n

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To visit the interior of the castle, I recommend that you make a reservation online in advance, because you may not find tickets anymore (during the summer there are up to six thousand visitors in a day).<\/span><\/p>\n

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The tour of the castle is only with a guide and lasts about 30 minutes, photography is prohibited.\u00a0Tickets are picked up one hour before the booked time\u00a0from the Schwangau ticket office<\/a>\u00a0which is open until 5pm in summer and 3pm in winter.\u00a0The price of a ticket is \u20ac13\/person. You must be careful to arrive on time for the guided tour, otherwise you risk not being able to enter the castle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you drive to\u00a0Hohenschwangau<\/strong>, don’t worry about not having a place to park.\u00a0There are plenty of parking spaces, the price is \u20ac7\/day.\u00a0It is not possible to drive in the area of \u200b\u200bthe castle.\u00a0You can go up on foot (a 20-30 minute ride from the ticket office), by bus or horse-drawn carriage.<\/span><\/p>\n

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From the castle you reach the\u00a0Marienbr\u00fccke<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the perfect place to photograph and admire the castle in all its splendor \u2013 a wooden bridge, built over a 45-meter waterfall from where you can leave with one of the most beautiful panoramas of the Bavarian Alps.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The journey from the castle takes about 10 minutes, and from the bridge you can take a bus that takes you to the village or you can walk down.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Next to\u00a0Neuschwanstein<\/em>\u00a0, above the town, towers\u00a0the Hohenschwangau Castle <\/strong>– the place where KingLudwig II<\/em>\u00a0grew\u00a0up during the summer.\u00a0The castle was built in neo-Gothic style between 1832 and 1836 by King\u00a0Maximilian II<\/em>\u00a0(father of\u00a0Louis II<\/em>), the emblem of the royal family being the swan (“Schwan” in German), symbol of the dynasty of the Knights of Schwangau who it is found both on the castle walls and on the roof or fountains.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Although it is quite close to\u00a0Neuschwanstein<\/em>,\u00a0Hohenschwangau<\/em>\u00a0is much less visited (300,000 visitors per year, compared to 1.3 million tourists per year for\u00a0Neuschwanstein<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you want to visit the interior as well, you can get a combined ticket with\u00a0Neuschwanstein<\/em> which costs \u20ac26\/person. As with Neuschwanstein Castle, photography inside is prohibited.<\/span><\/p>\n

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At the foot of the\u00a0Alps<\/em>\u00a0are the\u00a0Alpsee<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0Bayerischen K\u00f6nige<\/strong>\u00a0museum (Museum of the Bavarian Kings), opened in 2011, which provides information about the history of the\u00a0House of Wittelsbach<\/strong>\u00a0(one of the oldest noble families in\u00a0Europe<\/em>) from its beginnings to the present.\u00a0The exhibition focuses on King Maximilian II and his family.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you plan to come to this area of\u00a0\u200b\u200bBavaria<\/strong>\u00a0to visit the castles, one day is enough, and if you don’t get tickets for the guided tour you can allocate 2-3 hours to admire them from the outside.\u00a0We chose not to enter, because we read on the official website that most of the rooms of the\u00a0<\/span>Neuschwanstein<\/span><\/em>\u00a0castle are being renovated, and we left visiting the interior for another time.\u00a0<\/span>From\u00a0Hohenschwangau<\/strong>\u00a0we continued our way to\u00a0Rothenburg ob der Tauber <\/a>and W\u00fcrzburg<\/a>, which you will read about in our next articles.<\/span><\/p>\n

(Hohenschwangau – May 2019)<\/span><\/p>\n

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