Of Castles and Kings ...

My post about May Day festivities in Bavaria having reminded me of our visit to that area in 2005, I have returned to mention a couple of the more traditional tourist sights of the area.  While there are literally tons of sights to see, among the most visited are two of the many castles associated with King Ludwig II of Bavaria, aka "Mad King Ludwig," the "Swan King," and "der Märchenkönig" (the "Fairy Tale King").

Ludwig was eccentric by any measure, but whether he was actually mad is an open question.  At least it is an open question today.  At the time (1886), desposing him on grounds of mental illness - without any medical examination - was a convenient way for his political foes to discredit and get rid of him.  When he died one day after that diagnosis under mysterious circumstances, no one seemed to question it at the time.  Because there were no Crime Scene Investigative units available, what actually happened will likely remain one of the world's historical mysteries.

Before his sad demise, however, Ludwig managed to leave his mark on history, at least on architectural history, by building, or at least starting construction of, castles that were less utilitarian than those built during the Middle Ages and more representative of fantasy.  Perhaps the most famous and imaginative of all, Schloss Neuschwanstein, served as the inspiration for the Disneyland version of the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Intrepid wanderers that we were, we actually climbed the more rustic path up to the castle, but regained our senses enough to take one of the horse-drawn vehicles back down.  The fact that it was raining fairly consistently no doubt helped us to arrive at this conclusion.  As can be seen, Healer Sis, Sweet L and Sweet R, who was chauffeuring us around, are somewhat damply bedraggled.  There was no way that I was getting in front of a camera.

After visiting Neuschwanstein, we fortified ourselves with lunch and then headed over to visit Hohenschwangau Castle, which was Ludwig's childhood residence.  Hohenschwangau was actually built by Ludwig's father, King Maximilian II.  Schwangau is the name of the German village nearby.  The German word "schwan" in each castle's name means "swan" in English, thus providing the rationale for the derivation of "Swan King" as an appellation for Ludwig.  These are the two castles most associated with him.  They are close enough that one castle can be seen from the other.

From the Swan castles, we continued to the Wieskirche (the Pilgrimage Church of the Scourged Saviour in Wies), a masterpiece of rococo design.  It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and underwent extensive renovation as a result.  To say that we were stunned by the glorious interior is an understatement.  But tourists are not allowed to take photos of the interior of the church, so all I have is a photo of the exterior.  For more information, check out the link in the church's name above and the church's own website here.

All in all, we had a fine time in this beautiful area and drank lots of good beer.  But one of my most lasting impressions of the visit will remain this view of Healer Sis emulating the bronze swan in the castle garden at Hohenschwangau.