King Ludwig II and His Fairy-tale Castles

While Munich’s royal buildings woo visitors with their history, sumptuous architecture, and golden splendour, fairy-tale King Ludwig II’s world-famous castles outside the Bavarian metropolis impress with no less.
If you take a day trip into the extended surroundings, make sure you stop at Linderhof Palace (Schloss Linderhof) in the resort town of Ettal distinguished by its clean air. The small Rococo palace built from 1874 to 1878 includes a park and is picturesquely nestled in the middle of the Ammer Mountains. It has also been dubbed Ludwig II’s “royal villa”.
The fairy-tale king’s two castles near Füssen make up a pair of destinations that attracts visitors from all over the world. They include 12th-century Hohenschwangau Castle and, first and foremost, Neuschwanstein Castle. The latter was designed as a place for King Ludwig II to seek refuge. Completed only in 1886, the castle draws a crowd of 1.5 million every year. A ruler far removed from the world, the king built the fairy-tale castle to bring to life composer Richard Wagner’s fantastic stage world.

Herrenchiemsee Palace on Chiemsee’s Herreninsel is no less impressive. It is the largest of all of Ludwig’s palaces and was designed to outshine and outdo even the Baroque splendour and massive scale of Versailles. Even if this sumptuous edifice was never completed, Herrenchiemsee and its sister palaces to this day attest to the glory of Bavaria’s history and remain impressive and rewarding places to visit.

Monasteries and Places of Pilgrimage

Places of pilgrimage such as Altötting or Andechs with its monastery founded during the 10th century are worth a day trip, as is Wieskirche, a church that has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site. Its enchanting Rococo splendour has left pilgrims speechless for centuries. However, Bavaria’s monasteries are famous for reasons that have nothing to do with art history. For they feature traditional breweries and beer gardens that lure thousands of visitors year after year.