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Castles

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Neuschwanstein Castle
The earliest castles were built in Normandy and were, basically, just a mound encased by a ditch or moat with a few building in the interior. There have been numerous developments in the architecture and have turned them into concentric castles with stonewalls thick enough to withstand anything. These castles have been scattered all over the world. Some were made to hold troops to defend against enemies; some were also made as a luxurious getaway for a Lord or a King. Many of these castles are enormous, durable, resilient buildings that were carefully constructed over a length of time that resulted in beautiful works of art all over the world. One of the castles that are known for its beauty and marvel is Neuschwanstein Castle. Neuschwanstein means, “new swan stone”, and is a very well known castle that lies in the southwestern state of Bavaria in Southern Germany. Some people know it as “the castle of the fairy-tale king”. This fairy tale king, the creator of the castle, was King Ludwig II. He was the successor and son of King Maximillian II; and took the oath to become the next King at the young age of 18 right after his father died of blood disease.
The location of the castle has some history behind it. Ludwig II’s predecessor, Maximillian II, owned a castle named Hohenschuangau, which fairly close to Neuschwanstein. This made it so that Maximillian II could see the creation of the castle from his castle. The location of Neuschwanstein is near the town of Fussen, it is very amazing because since it is positioned on the top of a hill, Ludwig II could see the Alps, Hohenschuangau, and everything else for miles, it is a beautiful view, and was exactly what King Ludwig II wanted. The main purpose for this castle was to serve as private home for Ludwig II. He had many problems politically, and personally, and instead of getting stressed and trying to deal with them, he solved them by becoming a recluse. It was supposed to be his own little dream world away from all his misery. Another reason for the creation of the castle was to be homage for Richard Wagner. Wagner was a very famous composer in that time, and one of his best fans was Ludwig II. Ludwig II went out of his way to pay for Wagner to stay in Munich. The King bought Wagner a house and provided resources for Wagner to construct the Bayreuth Festival Theatre. Ludwig enjoyed Wagner, and his music, which led to Ludwig constantly helping Wagner through financial struggles through his career. Ludwig was very sad when he learned about Richard Wagner’s death on February 13, 1883
Ludwig II created the castle itself in the style of Romanesque Revival; in other words, he tried to make it look like it was from the 11th or 12th century. Although it looked old and was built over a hundred years ago, there are a lot of technologically advanced appliances of his time, such as indoor plumbing, heaters, and every other luxury that would make his daily operations easier or more comfortable. There was running hot, and cold water on every floor and in the kitchen. There were even flushing toilets, as well as working telephones on the third and forth floor. There was also an electric bell that he would use to summon his servants or other personnel. King Ludwig II died before he could ever live in the completely finished estate, but within weeks it was open to the public to see, explore, and to appreciate. He dedicated his life to the construction of the castle and was never able to see it completed when he died on June 13, 1886. The reason of Ludwig’s death is very mysterious. It is said that one night, the King asked his personal Psychiatrist, Johann Bernhard Aloys von Gudden, to go on a walk with him alongside the shore of Lake Starnberg. They never returned by the time that they were meant to, so a search commenced, and they found the bodies three hours later at 11:30 with their bodies partially in the lake. The Kings watch was said to have stopped at 6:54. The reports stated that the cause of death was suicide by drowning, but the autopsy revealed that there was no water in his lungs, researchers and historians still do not exactly understand what occurred that night. The Castle itself has a long walk up the hill on which the castle stands. After the long walk there is a very large entrance that is painted orange red. Through that, there is great view of the palas, and a view of the staircase tower, which is the tallest point of the structure. The main color of the castle, besides the entrance, is white. The palas, or the residential rooms where King Ludwig II would have lived, makes up a lot of the castle. There are also many other towers extended off of the palas, additionally there is the knights house connected to it as well. The architecture of the building is quite amazing, it is quite a site to see. The castle is just like a time machine, the insides still look the same way that they did a hundred years ago, and to keep it that way, it must be preserved by getting renovated over the next few years due to damaging effects because of the severe climate. It’s construction started in 1872, was finished in 1884 without the complete details, in 1884 Ludwig II moved in permanently until he died. It was completely done with everything in 1892. Since than, over 40 million people have visited the fantastic site. In the summer, about 6,000 tourists visit daily and it is currently one of the most popular castles to visit in the world. It is amazing that this castle was solely built for a single person to be able to withdraw from pubic life, but since his death, thousands of people visit is dream-like castle daily. Although this castle was not home to any battles, there is a unique story behind it. It is a story unique enough to make it to the finals as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Neuschwanstein was a great castle to learn more about, a mysterious castle to read discussions about, and a good choice of a castle to write about.

Map and parts of the Castle:

a.Staircase Tower
b.Knights' House
c.Square Tower
d.Connecting Building
e.Hall
f.Entrance Hall
g.Palase
h.Upper Courtyard i.Lower Courtyard
j.Gateway Building
k.Staircase Tower
l.Bower

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