Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein
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My family friends from Stuttgart and I travelled to Neuschwanstein a very famous Bavarian Castle not far from Munich.  It was finished in the 19th Century and located on the hill across from Neuschwanstein is Hohenschwangau.  The builder was named LudwigII and he was inspired by Hohenschwangau to build Neuschwanstein.

Idealized designs by scene painters for a "New Hohenschwangau Castle" high above the tranquil Hohenschwangau of Ludwig II's father, a "Byzantine Palace" and a copy of Versailles were already in existence by 1868. From the beginning, Ludwig's fantasy world embraced several different epochs. The "New Castle" (subsequently Neuschwanstein), was based on Christian kingship in the Middle Ages, and the new Versailles, built from 1878 on the Herreninsel, recalls the baroque absolutism of the Bourbon King of France. Linderhof in the Graswangtal, built from 1869, imitates a variety of styles, with the help of the latest technology.

Hohenschwangau
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Neuschwanstein is also known as the "Cinderella Castle" and was used as the inspiration for the castle in Disneyland.

Ludwig II actually never finished the building of Neuschwanstein himself.  He was declared mentally insane and then was found drowned in his own lake.  Some believe it was suicide, but others believe it was murder.  In spite of this, contruction was finished after his death and the castle still stands today as a breathtaking tourist attraction.