Neuschwanstein castle commands a picturesque position on a craggy rock in the Bavarian mountains. Built by fairytale King Ludwig II, hardly any other castle inspires the visitors’ imagination in quite the same way as his “Castle of the Holy Grail”. The Bavarian king’s partiality for the Middle Ages and the world of German mythology coupled with his friendship with Richard Wagner provided the inspiration for fulfilling the dream of his dreams. Work on the magnificent building with its neo-Romanesque towers and merlons, round courtyards and oriels, staterooms and chambers started in 1869 but was not entirely completed before the king’s incapacitation and mysterious death by drowning in Lake Starnbergersee on 13 June 1886. The manifestation of a king’s dreams in stone bears witness to his late Romantic introvertedness. By resorting to Romanesque style, the castle is the result of an attempt to unite art, nature and architecture in one great whole work of art, or synthesis of the arts. After Ludwig’s death, the castle was opened to the public. Today about 1.3 million people visit the castle every year. The model is the only one built by Jerina senior and junior and is one of the highlights in Minimundus.
