CE Castles of Europe
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Neuschwanstein Castle
Germany · Hohenschwangau, Bavaria

Neuschwanstein Castle

The fairy-tale castle of a reclusive king, perched in the Bavarian Alps — and the model for a hundred storybook palaces.

Photo: Ximonic, Simo Räsänen (post-processing) & Tauno Räsänen (photograph) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Key facts

  • CountryGermany
  • Built1869–1886
  • Famous forKing Ludwig II's fairy-tale castle and model for Disney's palace
  • AddressNeuschwansteinstraße 20, 87645 Schwangau, Germany
  • Official websiteOfficial website ↗

Neuschwanstein was begun in 1869 for Ludwig II of Bavaria, a shy and increasingly withdrawn king who dreamed of a medieval knight's castle from a vanished age. It was never a fortress and was never finished: of more than two hundred planned rooms, barely fifteen were completed before Ludwig died, mysteriously, in 1886. Seven weeks later the castle he had built as a private refuge was opened to the paying public.

What rises on the crag above Hohenschwangau is less a real castle than a stage set built in stone — a Romanesque Revival fantasy soaked in the operas of Richard Wagner, whom Ludwig idolised. Its silhouette of white towers against the Alpine forest has since travelled the world as the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Today it is one of the most visited castles in Europe, drawing well over a million guests a year.

Opening hours

PeriodHours
April – 15 October09:00–18:00
16 October – March10:00–16:00

Closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. Guided tours only.

Opening times change with the season and on public holidays. Always confirm the current hours on the castle's official website before visiting.

Good to know

The interior can only be seen on a timed guided tour, and tickets are sold through the Ticket-Center in the village of Hohenschwangau below — booking ahead is strongly advised. The castle is reached by a steep walk, a shuttle bus or a horse-drawn carriage from the village.