Hohenschwangau
History
Schloss Hohenschwangau is a breathtaking neo-Gothic 19th-century palace, perched regally above the quaint village of Hohenschwangau, near Füssen in Bavaria, Germany. The Knights of Schwangau, who served as knights and administrators of the House of Welf, are first recorded in 1090 at Schwangau, a double castle on the rock where Neuschwanstein stands today. The castle on the hill below, which they called Schwanstein, is first mentioned in 1397.
In 1440, Georg von Schwangau sold the castles to Duke Albrecht III of Bavaria-Munich, but the family continued to live at the castle as burgraves. In 1521, Emperor Charles V returned the fief to the brothers Heinrich and Georg at the Diet of Worms, and in 1535, they sold the estate for 35,000 gulden. The brothers died the following year, and the line died out with them.
Two Tyrolean envoys surveyed the structural condition of Burg Schwanstein and wrote:
"Schwanstein is situated on a low outcrop of rock between the two lakes. It is situated neither for exigency nor defense, but has very thin walls and is accessible on all sides without difficulty; it is internally entirely of timber construction and poorly built, with all roofs, stairs, internal structures, and appurtenances in a state of ruin."
The buyer was Johann Paumgartner, a wealthy Augsburg merchant, who hired Italian architect Lucio di Spazzi to rebuild the lower castle. Spazzi retained the exterior walls and towers while redesigning the interior between 1537 and 1547; the floor plan from that era still exists. The older upper castle fell into neglect. After Paumgartner died in 1549, his sons fell into debt, and in 1567, the lordship was sold to Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria from the House of Wittelsbach, who used it as a retreat and lodge for bear hunting.
Schloss Hohenschwangau, with the Alps behind.
In 1743, Austrian troops plundered the castle during the War of the Austrian Succession. A new district office was built in 1786, and the castle fell into disrepair. Troops were quartered there during the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1809), and the castle suffered a short but unsuccessful French siege. In 1803, the county of Schwangau became part of the Electorate of Bavaria. The damage contributed to the castle's dilapidated state by the early 19th century, though it was not catastrophic, and the structure survived as a ruin until its reconstruction. In 1820, King Maximilian I of Bavaria sold the castle for demolition, for only 200 guilders. Prince Ludwig of Oettingen-Wallerstein bought it the next year to save it, and sold it again in 1823.
In April 1829, Maximilian, then crown prince of Bavaria, discovered the old, dilapidated castle, then known as Schwanstein, during a walking tour. After about three years of negotiations, in 1832, he bought it for 7,000 guilders. He renamed it Schloss Hohenschwangau, a name that had belonged to the older castle on the rock above, which would later become Neuschwanstein.
The gatehouse.
Reconstruction began in 1833 under the direction of Maximilian's art teacher, Domenico Quaglio the Younger (1787-1837), a painter of architectural and theatrical scenes. He designed the rebuilt Neo-Gothic castle and its garden, but he died at Hohenschwangau in 1837 while the work was still underway, and Joseph Daniel Ohlmüller and Georg Friedrich Ziebland continued it, with additions continuing through 1855. The interior was decorated with more than ninety wall paintings in 1835 and 1836, based on designs by Moritz von Schwind and Ludwig Lindenschmit the Elder.
The castle was renamed Hohenschwangau and transformed into the splendid summer home and hunting retreat of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia, whom he married in 1842, and their two sons, Ludwig and Otto. Ludwig would one day ascend to the throne as King Ludwig II of Bavaria, while Otto would become King Otto I of Bavaria. The young princes spent many years of their childhood at Hohenschwangau, growing up amid the magic of German romances such as Parzival and Lohengrin, the legendary Knight of the Swan.
The queen's cousin, Frederick William IV of Prussia, had Schloss Stolzenfels on the River Rhine rebuilt at the same time in the same Gothic Revival style.
Schloss Hohenschwangau seen from above.
On March 10th, 1864, Maximilian II died; soon after, Ludwig II became King and moved into his father's room at Hohenschwangau, while his mother remained on another floor. He later had his bedroom made over, with a starry sky, and Queen Marie restored it to its original state after his death. Not long after he became king, the young dreamer began building a castle of his own, choosing a site high above his parents' castle in the Bavarian Alps, on the grounds of an old Schwangau fortress, just a few hundred yards from Hohenschwangau. He called his new castle Neuschwanstein.
While constructing Neuschwanstein, Ludwig began using vast family resources to build Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee, with further plans for an alpine castle called Falkenstein.
Ludwig's family declared him insane. On June 10th, 1886, a government commission entered Neuschwanstein and escorted Ludwig away to the isolated Berg Castle on the shore of Lake Starnberg. On June 13th, 1886, he set out for an evening walk with his psychiatrist, Dr. Bernhard von Gudden, and vanished into the dusk. Their bodies were later discovered floating in the still waters of Lake Starnberg that night. The death was officially ruled a suicide by drowning, though no water was found in his lungs.
After Ludwig's death, his mother, Queen Marie, was the sole resident at Hohenschwangau until her own passing in 1889. Subsequently, her brother-in-law, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, moved into the castle's third floor. In 1905, he modernized the castle by introducing electricity and installing an electric elevator. After Luitpold died in 1912, the castle opened as a museum the following year.
In 1923, the Bavarian State Parliament recognized the former royal family's right to live at the castle. The castle and other holdings were transferred back to the Wittelsbach Compensation Fund, which still owns the castle.
From 1933 to 1939, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria used the castle as a summer residence; it remains a favorite among his successors.
In May 1941, Adolf Hitler issued the Prinzenerlass, barring royals from military service. As a result, Prince Adalbert of Bavaria was removed from the military and retired to Schloss Hohenschwangau, where he remained for the war's duration.
Today, Hohenschwangau, like Neuschwanstein, is a major tourist attraction, attracting more than 300,000 visitors a year.
Castle Highlights
Schloss Hohenschwangau embodies 19th century Romanticism. It blends medieval inspiration with the lavish comforts of its era. Crowning a hilltop above the Alpsee Lake and the storybook village of Schwangau, the castle stands as the dramatic prologue to the legend of the "Mad King" Ludwig II.
The swan fountain.
The castle is open to visitors year-round, but the interior can be seen only on a guided tour of about 45 minutes, offered in German and English, with audio guides in other languages. There is a ticket office at the base of the castle where you can buy tickets. You can also buy them online in advance for both Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. The best way is to tour Hohenschwangau in the morning, have lunch, and then tour Neuschwanstein in mid-afternoon.
Hohenschwangau features yellow facades, corner towers, and battlements. Inside the castle are over 90 murals depicting Germanic legends, history, and knightly themes.
Rooms include the Hall of Heroes, the Swan Knight Hall, Queen Marie's Oriental Room, King Maximilian's bedroom, and a music room. Richard Wagner visited Hohenschwangau as a guest of King Ludwig II, notably for about a week in November 1865, and he stayed in a guest room that guides still point out. The music room contains the rectangular maplewood piano, often called the "Wagner piano," that he played.
