Castle Bullachberg was built in 1905 on the Bullach-mountain in the middle of the plain and in front of the world-famous Royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau by Eugene Drollinger (1858-1930) for the Munich enterpriser Emil Papenhagen and was acquired in 1927 by Rafael Prince of Thurn and Taxis who lived here with his family up to his death in 1996.”

The castle has about 900 m ² living space and is  stylistically Jugendstil (Art Nouveau). It stands under conservation of monuments and historic buildings and has also a small chapel beside living rooms manorial.

In 2002 the law had given the permission to build a 5-star hotel on feet of the Bullach mountain. Because of the prominent situation of the castle with the royal castles several years of the political discussion followed, also in the plenary hall of the Bavarian parliament. The hotel should originate as an outbuilding for already available good buildings.
The plans of the heirs of Thurn and Taxis could not be realised.

2006 acquired the Porsche AG the property to realise the project. In September, 2011 it stood again for the sales.

In summer, 2012 Elisabeth von Elmenau bought the castle with his outbuildings and the country. In beginning  2014 she will continue there not only her ecological agriculture, she also open the castle for holiday-makers and cultural events.


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Hohenschwangau Castle or Schloss Hohenschwangau (lit: Upper Swan County Palace) is a 19th-century palace in southern Germany. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. It is located in the German village of Hohenschwangau near the town of Füssen, part of the county of Ostallgäu in southwestern Bavaria, Germany, very close to the border with Austria.

The fortress Schwangau, which was first mentioned in historical records dating from the 12th Century, stood high up on a rock on the site of the present 19th-century Neuschwanstein castle. The knights, later counts of Schwangau, were ministerialis of the Welfs. Hiltbolt von Schwangau (1195–1254) was a minnesinger. Margareta von Schwangau was the wife of minnesinger Oswald von Wolkenstein.

The present day Hohenschwangau ("Upper Schwangau") castle was first mentioned in 1397, though under the name of Schwanstein. Only in the 19th century the names of the two castles have switched. It was built on a hill above lake Alpsee, below the older fortress. Between 1440 and 1521 the Lords had to sell their fief with Imperial immediacy to the Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria, but continued to occupy the castle as Burgraves. In 1521 they became owners again but had to sell their land in 1535. The purchaser, Johann Paumgartner, a wealthy Augsburg merchant, had the lower castle reconstructed by Italian architect Lucio di Spazzi who already worked on the Hofburg, Innsbruck. He kept the exterior walls and the towers but rebuilt the inner parts until 1547, on a floor plan that still today exists. The older Schwangau fortress however continued to fall into ruins. Paumgartner, after having been elevated to the rank of baron, died in 1549 and his sons sold their new castle to Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria.

The Wittelsbachs used the castle for bear hunting or as a retreat for agnatic princes. In 1743 it was plundered by Austrian troops. In the German mediatization the county of Schwangau became officially a part of the Electorate of Bavaria in 1803. King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria sold the castle in 1820. Only in 1832 his grandson Maximilian II of Bavaria, then crown prince, bought it back. In April 1829, he had discovered the historic site during a walking tour and reacted enthusiastically to the beauty of the surrounding area. He acquired the dilapidated building – then still known as Schwanstein – in 1832, abandoning his father's wish that he should move into the old castle (Hohes Schloss) in the nearby town of Füssen. In February 1833, the reconstruction of the castle began, continuing until 1837, with additions up to 1855. The architect in charge, Domenico Quaglio, was responsible for the neogothic style of the exterior design. He died in 1837 and the task was continued by Joseph Daniel Ohlmüller (died 1839) and Georg Friedrich Ziebland. More than 90 wall paintings represent the history of Schwangau (literally translated the Swan District), as well as medieval German romances such as Parzival and the story of Lohengrin, the Knight of the Swan, on which Richard Wagner later based his operas Lohengrin of 1848 and Parsifal of 1882, sponsored by Ludwig II who had grown up with these stories at Hohenschwangau.

Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia, and their two sons Ludwig (the later King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and Otto (the later King Otto I of Bavaria). The young princes spent many years of their adolescence here. Queen Marie who loved to hike in the mountains created an alpine garden with plants gathered from all over the alps. The King and the Queen lived in the main building, and the boys in the annex. The Queen's cousin, Frederick William IV of Prussia, had Stolzenfels Castle on the Rhine rebuilt at the same time in the Gothic Revival style.

King Maximilian died in 1864 and his son Ludwig succeeded to the throne, moving into his father's room in the castle. As Ludwig never married, his mother Marie was able to continue living on her floor during the summer months. King Ludwig enjoyed living in Hohenschwangau, however mostly in the absence of his disliked mother, especially after 1869 when the building of his own castle, Neuschwanstein, began on the site of the old Schwangau fortress, high above his parent's castle.

After Ludwig's death in 1886, Queen Marie was the castle's only resident until she in turn died in 1889. Her brother-in-law, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, lived on the 3rd floor of the main building. He was responsible for the electrification in 1905 and the installation of an electric elevator. Luitpold died in 1912 and the palace was opened as a museum during the following year.

During World War I and World War II, the castle suffered no damage. In 1923, the Bavarian State Parliament recognised the right of the former royal family to reside in the castle. From 1933 to 1939, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and his family used the castle as their summer residence, and it continues to be a favourite residence of his successors, currently his grandson Franz, Duke of Bavaria. In May 1941, Prince Adalbert of Bavaria was purged from the military under Hitler's Prinzenerlass and withdrew to the family castle Hohenschwangau, where he lived for the rest of the war.

More than 300,000 visitors from all over the world visit the palace each year. The castle is open all through the year (except for Christmas). Opening hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (April through September) and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (October through March). Guided tours are provided in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Czech, Slovenian, and Japanese. Self-guided tours are not available.

Hohenschwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle

Das gotische Hohe Schloss der Bischöfe von Augsburg liegt auf einem Hügel über der Altstadt von Füssen in Schwaben. Das große Burgschloss gilt als eine der am besten erhaltenen mittelalterlichen Burganlagen Bayerns.

Geschichte
Auf dem Schlossberg entstand in der späten römischen Kaiserzeit das Kastell Foetibus als Sitz einer Nachschubeinheit der III. Italischen Legion. Bereits um 47 n. Chr. dürfte sich eine der Raststationen der Via Claudia auf dem heutigen Stadtgelände befunden haben. Die Augsburger Bischöfe gründeten bereits im 8. Jahrhundert das Kloster Sankt Mang. Die Ruinen des römischen Kastells konnten damals sicherlich noch als willkommener Steinbruch dienen. Im Jahre 1183 schenkten die Augsburger dem Kloster den Gaisberg (Altwik), der später die Burg tragen sollte. Allerdings musste das Kloster sich damals verpflichten, niemals ein weltliches Bauwerk auf dem Hügel zu errichten oder den Berg an einen weltlichen Herrn zu veräußern.

Die Vogtei über das Hochstift Augsburg wurde nach dem Tod des letzten Staufers Konradin zum Streitobjekt zwischen den Bischöfen von Augsburg und den Herzögen von Bayern. Konradin hatte die Vogtei 1266 und 1267 unrechtmäßig an seinen Onkel, den bayerischen Herzog, verpfändet. Herzog Ludwig II. versuchte seine Ansprüche auf das Füssener Gebiet durch die Anlage einer Burg über dem Kloster abzusichern. Im Jahre 1292 kam es nach heftigen Auseinandersetzungen zu einem Vergleich, bei dem der Herzog auf die Burg und den Ausbau weiterer Befestigungen in der Region verzichtete.

Im Jahre 1313 verpfändete Kaiser Heinrich VII. die Vogtei über die Güter des Bistums an Bischof Friedrich I. 1322 erwarb das Hochstift den Burgberg auf dem Tauschweg und machte die Veste zum Sitz des Pflegamtes Füssen. Im Jahre 1363 war die Burg bereits in die Stadtbefestigung integriert. In den Jahren ab 1486 erfolgte unter Bischof Friedrich II. von Zollern ein umfangreicher Um- und Ausbau des Pflegschlosses, der das Bild der Anlage bis heute bestimmt. Ein weiterer Umbau wurde gegen 1680 unter Fürstbischof Johann Christoph von Freyberg begonnen, der aber hauptsächlich die Innenausstattung betraf.

In den Jahren 1798 und 1799 wurde die Burg als österreichisches Zentrallazarett zweckentfremdet und im Jahr darauf von den Franzosen okkupiert. In der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts erfolgten einige Renovierungsarbeiten, zeitweilig war das Hohe Schloss sogar als Sommersitz des bayerischen Kronprinzen Maximilian vorgesehen, der sich jedoch für Schloss Hohenschwangau entschied, das er 1832 erwarb. In den Jahren 1862 und 1863 richtete man im Südflügel das Füssener Amtsgericht ein, später wurden sogar einige Wohnungen eingebaut.

Der Nordflügel beherbergt seit 1931 eine Filialgalerie der Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen. Schwerpunkt der Dauerausstellung in sechs Räumen ist die schwäbische Malerei der Spätgotik. Im großen Festsaal (Rittersaal) werden zur Ergänzung Allgäuer Skulpturen dieser Zeit präsentiert, unter anderem einige Werke Jörg Lederers. Die Städtische Galerie im ersten Obergeschoss zeigt neben Werken der „Münchner Schule“ des 19. Jahrhunderts einige Zeichnungen des Grafen Pocci und Arbeiten einheimischer Künstler.

Das Burgschloss wurde in den Jahren 1957/58 und 1966/67 renoviert. Später wurden noch die Illusionsmalereien aufgefrischt und einige Innenräume und die Kapelle saniert.

Hohes Schloss Füssen

Die Ruine der Burg Hopfen befindet sich auf einem Hügel über dem Füssener Ortsteil Hopfen am See im Landkreis Ostallgäu in Bayerisch-Schwaben. Von der hochmittelalterlichen Höhenburganlage haben sich noch einige Mauerreste erhalten.

Geschichte

Im Vordergrund Reste der Ringmauer, dahinter die Ruinen der Kapelle und des Wohnturms
Die Ursprünge der Burg Hopfen sind unklar. Möglicherweise ist sie mit jener „festen Burg“ gleichzusetzen, in die sich der Augsburger Gegenbischof Wigolt 1078 während des Investiturstreites zurückzog.

1172 bis 1191 saß ein welfisches Dienstmannengeschlecht auf der Veste, das sich nach der Burg benannte. Anschließend ging die Anlage an das Hochstift Augsburg und diente bis 1322 als Amtssitz des Füssener Propstes.

Durch den Neubau des Hohen Schlosses zu Füssen scheint die Burg entbehrlich geworden zu sein und begann zu verfallen.

Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts wurde die Ruine als Steinbruch für den Umbau des Füssener Klosters St. Mang ausgebeutet.

1999 begann die Stadt Füssen unter der fachlichen Anleitung eines Mittelalterarchäologen mit der behutsamen Sanierung der Burgreste. Die Konservierungsmaßnahmen werden in den nächsten Jahren fortgesetzt.

Burg Hopfen

In the over 550 years since its construction, Schloss zu Hopferau has had a very eventful history. Built as a hunting castle by Knight Sigmund, it quickly gained a reputation as a hospitable and pleasant place to stay due to its comfort (compared to the nearby Hohenfreyberg Castle).

Along with knights, princes and other members of the nobility, several famous historical figures are said to have stayed here. Due to its many prominent guests, since the middle of the 16th century Hopferau Castle increasingly became a focal point of social life in the Allgäu region.

The “Hopfer-Au” estate was once owned by the Lords of Hohenegg zu Vils, who ceded it to the Lords of Freyberg in 1385.

Following the division of the lordship between the brothers Wilhelm and Sigmund von Freyberg-Eisenberg, in 1467, the lordship of Hopferau was established.

In 1468 The knight of Freyberg – Eisenberg, knight Sigmund, starts building Schloss zu Hopferau on the grounds its stands on today. In total, the castle was in Family hands until 1838

Schloss zu Hopferau.remained in the possession of the Hopferau line of the Freyberg-Eisenbergs, and the east wing was added around 1790.

In 1838 The sisters Albertine and Pauline of Freyberg-Eisenberg to Wellingen who had changed the look of the castle with its new gothic façade - with the help of Domenico Qualio - sell Schloss zu Hopferau to its first private owner, the post export business man Michael Kolb from Füssen.

In 1839 The new owner of Schloss zu Hopferau is the Lord of Ponikau

In 1910 Paul Segisser, a painter from the city of Karlsruhe, lives and works in the castle

In 1933 Schloss zu Hopferau is without owner and its immediate neighbour, Otto Keller, is given the key to the castle.

In 1937 Georg Halbich, a sculptor from Munich, buys the castle, which at that time is in desperate need of renovation.

In 1949 The key of the castle goes to its new owner, Judith Böser, granddaughter of Georg Halbich.

In 1979 Konrad Zuse, inventor of the Z4, the first electronic server, is hiding from the Nazis with his family in Schloss zu Hopferau and builts his machine in the then bakeries storage room, which is the castles parking lot today.         

In 1999 Füssen’s culture club, head Heinz Deutschle, takes over the castle to safe it from complete shutdown.
The castle is getting an allover  face lift and is turned into a private art gallery.

In 2001 For the first time since the castles renovation started, it opens its doors to the public once again.

In 2005 A local business turns the castle into a place of fine dining, events and hotel under the watchful eye of Georg Kirchgäßner, at this time, director of the Schloss zu Hopferau.

In 2011 Schloss zu Hopferau welcomes his new owner, the BERA GmbH of Schwäbisch Hall.

The owner of the company Bernd H. Rath said once to his mother at the tender age of six “Im gonna have a castle like this” – as he stood in front of Neuschwanstein.

True to the intent, he is the proud owner of the castle you are in right now, the castle has been slowly  turned into a place of business and memories  especially for whom which have tight the knot in its halls and gardens.

Up to this day, Schloss zu Hopferau is known widely for its exclusive dining experience, its hospitality and place of rest for its guests from all over the world.

In 2014 CEO Bernd H. Rath becomes official ambassador of the Oställgau in april.

In 2016 Schloss zu Hopferau is classed oncemor after detailed and intensive check by the German hotel and restaurants association inc. (Dehoga) as a four-starhouse in august.

In 2018  Schloss zu Hopferau becomes 550 years old

In 2019  After extensive examination, the castle was incorporated in 2019 as a First Class Hotel in the circle of www.toptagungslocations.de and is entitled "Special Meeting and Event Location" 2019.


https://www.schloss-hopferau.com/en/castle/history.html

Schloss Hopferau

Falkenstein Castle or Castrum Pfronten is a High Middle Ages castle ruin in the Bavarian Alps, near Pfronten, a town in southern Germany. The ruin's German name is Burg Falkenstein ("Castle Falcon Stone"). At 1,268 metres (4,160 ft) above sea level, it is Germany's highest castle.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria purchased the ruin in 1883 and planned to transform the site into a magnificent fairy tale castle. However, the plans were abandoned upon his death in 1886.

Originally known as Castrum Pfronten, the stone castle was built approximately 1270–1280 by Count Meinhard II of Tyrol on the borders of his land. Because of the unusual situation of the castle it has been interpreted in historical context as a symbol of opposition to the Duchy of Bavaria. (During the winter the castle was dangerous to inhabit because of the high altitude at which it is located.) The name Castle Falkenstein only came into use in the 15th century. The castle was largely destroyed in the 17th century.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria purchased the ruin in 1883 and commissioned several architects, the first being Christian Jank (the designer of Neuschwanstein), to replace the existing structure with a romantic castle.

Jank first created a restrained design, but later envisioned the castle in a dramatic, High Gothic style. Georg Dollmann was employed to produce plans and elevations in the same year based on Jank's design. However, his modest and economical designs displeased Ludwig.

The task of redesigning Falkenstein was then given to Max Schultze, the Prince Thurn und Taxis' architect, who was flattered by the royal commission. He not only planned the architecture of the castle in a robber baron's style (a highly simplified version of Jank's sketch), but also began creating the castle's interior design and frescos (in a secular Byzantine style) with the help of August Spieß. Of particular note was Ludwig's bedroom, which was reminiscent of a vast chapel. During this time, in 1884, road and water lines were made to service the site and a papier-mâché model of Schultze's plan was created. However, Schultze withdrew from the project in 1885.

Julius Hofmann and Eugen Drollinger were chosen to succeed Schultze, although they knew that it was unlikely Falkenstein would ever be built. Thus, they made their designs as spectacular and impractical as they wished. Drollinger was working on a plan of Ludwig's bedchamber - redesigned to feature stained glass windows and a mosaic dome - when he learned of the King's death.

Ludwig died in 1886 before work on the castle proper could begin, and the many plans for Falkenstein were permanently abandoned. The ruin of Castrum Pfronten on the building site was never demolished.

The name and background of the castle have inspired Castle Falkenstein (abbreviated CF), a steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game (RPG) designed by Mike Pondsmith and originally published by R. Talsorian Games.

Falkenstein Castle (Pfronten)

Eisenberg Castle is a medieval hilltop castle ruin north of Pfronten, Bavaria, Germany built in the 14th century.

Eisenburg Castle was built in 1313, when the nobles of Hohenegg, deriving from the West of the Allgau, were deprived by force of their castle, Loch, by the Tyrolean. In consequence, they moved a few miles further north to establish their new lordship of Eisenberg which centered round a mighty new castle: Eisenberg. To visualize their power towards Tyrol/Austria, which held the closely sited castle of Falkenstein, Peter of Hohenegg decided to build Eisenberg in a most impressive manner: he placed it on top of a high mountain and surrounded the main castle with an exceedingly high curtain wall which gave the impression of a huge tower. The two residential houses together with the kitchen and chapel leaned against the inside of the curtain wall. The ground to the south of the main castle was covered by the outer castle, with access to the main castle from the east; later to be walled up, but still visible.

In 1382 the nobles of Hohenegg sold their castle to Austria, which by then was a more reliable partner than anybody else around. In 1390 Austria made Frederic of Freyberg constable of the castle whose eldest son built the neighbouring castle of Hohenfreyberg in 1418-32. Though the defences of the castle were strengthened around 1500, the castle was conquered without any effort in 1525 in the course of the German Peasants' War by local peasants who damaged the castle badly. Nevertheless the castle was rebuilt ten years later in a sumptuous way by Werner Volker of Freyberg after receiving high compensation payments from the peasants.

He improved the living luxury immensely by erecting a new stair tower and adding a bakery, a bath and several mured toilets to the curtain wall. Also the main castle got a new main gate towards the west.

The end of the castle came on the 15 September 1646, shortly before the end of the Thirty Years' War, when the Austrians burnt their own castles of Eisenberg, Freyberg and Falkenstein in a policy of scorched earth. in the 1980s the "Burgenverein Eisenberg" and the community of Eisenberg restored the fabric and established a small museum in the center of Zell.

Eisenberg Castle (Bavaria)

Hohenfreyberg Castle (German: Burg Hohenfreyberg), together with Eisenberg Castle directly opposite, forms a castle group in the southern Allgäu that is visible from a long way off. It is located about four kilometres north of Pfronten in the county of Ostallgäu. The late mediaeval hilltop castle was abandoned during the Thirty Years’ War and set on fire. From 1995 to 2006 the former aristocratic seat was comprehensively made safe and conserved as part of a closely observed "example of renovation".

The ruins are situated at 1,040.8 m above sea level (NN) on a twin-topped, rocky ridge in front of the Tannheim Mountains. In the local vicinity there are many other castles, ruins, castle sites and fortresses on either side of the Austro-German border, including the famous Neuschwanstein Castle.

The castle was one of the last great castles of the German Middle Ages. Its lord based it consciously on the – actually anachronistic – design of a high medieval hill castle whilst, in other places, the first castles had been abandoned or converted into schloss-like country houses.

Construction on the fortress was started in 1418 by Frederick of Freyberg zu Eisenberg, the eldest son of the eponymous lord of Eisenberg Castle. The work lasted until 1432, the funding coming from the income of the little barony that surrounded it, which the lord had bequeathed in advance of his death.

The walls of the inner bailey with its bergfried-like main tower and large sections of the walls of the outer bailey go back to this first construction phase. The first castle gave the impression of a high medieval hilltop castle about 200 years older with an impressive bergfried and two palases. At a time when the nobility were waning and the bourgeois classes were in the ascendancy, Frederick of Freyberg clearly wanted to create a symbol of unbroken aristocratic power. He certainly was certainly influenced by the size and appearance of his ancestral castle which was only a five minute walk away.

The construction and huge maintenance costs forced his sons, George and Frederick of Freyberg-Eisenberg zu Hohenfreyberg, and their cousin, George of Freyberg-Eisenberg zu Eisenberg, who also owned estates of the Barony of Hohenfreyberg, to sell the castle in 1484 to Archduke Sigmund of Austria; they also lacked a male heir. The successor to the Archduke, later Emperor Maximilian I, enfeoffed Hohenfreyberg in 1499 to Augsburg merchant, Georg Gossembrot, the Pfleger of the nearby Tyrolean castle of Ehrenberg. He invested heavily in the fortress: the site was fortified militarily and modernised. Gossembrot married his daughter Sibylle to Lutz of Freyberg zu Öpfingen-Justingen, a relative of the Freybergs at the neighbouring castle of Eisenberg.

In 1502 Gossembrot died and his widow, Radegunda Eggenberger, gave the fief of Hohenfreyberg back to Austria in an agreement dated 9 May 1513. She stated her late husband had spent 17,000 to 18,000 florins for its purchase and construction.

The modernization of the fortifications by the castle's vassal lords paid off in 1525 during the German Peasants' War. The Austrian Pfleger was able to ward the rebels off successfully after he had requested reinforcements and soldiers (Kriegsknechte) from Innsbruck.

In 1646, towards the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Austrian outposts of Hohenfreyberg, Eisenberg and Falkenstein were set on fire on the orders of the Tyrolean state government. The fortresses were not to fall intact into the hands of the approaching Protestants. However, the attackers changed their line of advance, so their destruction was needless. Since that time, all three castles have remained uninhabited ruins.

After the Battle of Austerlitz, Austria had to cede its Allgäu possessions to Bavaria. The Kingdom of Bavaria sold Hohenfreyberg in 1841 back to the Lords of Freyberg, to whom the castle still belongs today.

In 1995, an extensive renovation started on the castle which had hitherto been left to decay unhindered. The Alp Action Foundation under the patronage of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan enabled the start of the safety work that ended in 2006 for financial reasons. The aim of these measures was a historically faithful preservation of the state at the start of restoration, additions and larger archaeological intervention was excluded. The internationally acclaimed "conservation example" is a role model for similarly innovative historical monument projects across Europe.

As part of the expansion of the Allgäu Castle Region, in 2004 two educational displays and several information boards were put up at the castle. The planning concept of the Allgäu Castle Region is an extension of the cross-border East Allgäu-Außerfern Castle Region, which includes the spectacular fortress ensemble at Ehrenberg Castle near Reutte in Tyrol's Außerfern.

The castle was built mainly in three large construction phases. The original castle (1418–32) was somewhat smaller than the surviving ruins. It consisted of two angled residential buildings in the courtyard, a bergfried-like main tower in the east and a chapel tower. This inner bailey was surrounded by a short enceinte. The crenellated wall of the outer bailey was much lower than today. On the plateau of this outer ward were almost certainly a number of wooden domestic and residential buildings. The original gate of the outer ward was slightly wider, but situated on the same spot as the present entrance. Originally the castle track led around the north and east sides of the castle and met the one coming from the gate in the outer bailey. The gate of the inner ward was originally in the south wall. The outer wall guarded the main entrance in the manner of a gateway zwinger.

In 1456 the two gateways were reinforced. On the west side of the inner bailey a low artillery hut was built, from which an attacking enemy could be fired upon with light firearms. The main gate was expanded into a massive gateway structure.

Between 1486 and 1502 the castle was fundamentally remodelled and strengthened. At the southwest corner of the outer ward the mighty artillery roundel was built. The height of the enceinte was increased and designed with embrasures for arquebuses. The large battery tower guarded the new approach way, which was now on the southern side. The gateway to the inner bailey was moved to the west side and was given a new gate tower. This required the demolition of the northern half of the great west residence or palas, whose rubble was distributed to a depty of a metre in the inner courtyard. As a consequence even the smaller palas had to be remodelled. To the north and east the mighty zwinger systems were built with a semi-circular flanking tower in the far northeast.

Access to the castle site today is through the gate in the outer bailey on the western side. The gate and enceinte belong to the first phase of construction (1418/32). To the right rises a mighty artillery roundel (built in 1501, but later increased in height), that was added under Gossembrot. After about 30 metres the main gate of the inner bailey is reached, in front of which wings were later added. The original entranceway was, however, in the middle of the southern side. Here, there is a gateway in front, which was subsequently converted into a cistern tower. Nessler claims wrongly that this gateway is the remnant of the bergfried. This gateway/tower lost its function when the castle entrance was moved under Gossembrot from the north to the south side of the castle and guarded by the aforementioned artillery roundel.

The impressive zwinger system was built around the castle in 1486 under the vassal lord, Gossembrot.

Around 1540, the western front of the inner bailey was reinforced by an artillery platform. The conception of this castle element was based on Albrecht Dürer's 1527 tractate, "Some Lessons in Fortifying the City, Palace and Town" ("Ettliche underricht zu befestigung der Stett, Schloß und flecken"). The gun platform was made accessible again during the general renovation of the castle. The neighbouring castle of Eisenberg was also strengthened in the 16th century on the recommendations of Dürer.

Two domestic buildings stood in the castle courtyard, which were joined together forming an angle with one another. The square walls of the smaller one have partially survived, the outer wall of the larger building was also the enceinte of the original castle, but the east wall has disappeared. At the southwest corner the round, vaulted, chapel tower has survived.

The bergfried forms the eastern enclosure of the inner bailey with its balcony in front. The zwinger wall makes an acute angle around the eastern end of the inner bailey. In the northeast of the zwinger a round defensive tower rises from the line of the wall.

The whole castle was built of limestone blocks. The construction material came from several small quarries in the immediate and near vicinity of the castle.

Together with the surrounding palaces and fortifications the site offers an overview of the history of mediaeval fortifications over the last thousand years in what is known as the East Allgäu-Außerfern Castle Region (Burgregion Ostallgäu-Außerfern). Numerous artefacts from Hohenfreyberg Castle are on display in the castle museum in the village of Eisenberg-Zell.

Hohenfreyberg Castle

Linderhof Palace (German: Schloss Linderhof) is a Schloss in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.

Ludwig already knew the area around Linderhof from his youth when he had accompanied his father King Maximilian II of Bavaria on his hunting trips in the Bavarian Alps. When Ludwig II became king in 1864 he inherited the so-called Königshäuschen from his father, and in 1869 began enlarging the building. In 1874 he decided to tear down the Königshäuschen and rebuild it on its present-day location in the park. At the same time three new rooms and the staircase were added to the remaining U-shaped complex, and the previous wooden exterior was clad with stone façades. The building was designed in the style of the second rococo-period. Between 1863 and 1886 a total of 8,460,937 marks was spent constructing Linderhof.

Although Linderhof is much smaller than Versailles, it is evident that the palace of the French Sun-King Louis XIV (who was an idol for Ludwig) was its inspiration. The staircase, for example, is a reduction of the famous Ambassador's staircase in Versailles, which would be copied in full in Herrenchiemsee. Stylistically, however, the building and its decor take their cues from the mid-18th century Rococo of Louis XV, and the small palace in the Graswang was more directly based on that king's Petit Trianon on the Versailles grounds. The symbol of the sun that can be found everywhere in the decoration of the rooms represents the French notion of absolutism that, for Ludwig, was the perfect incorporation of his ideal of a God-given monarchy with total royal power. Such a monarchy could no longer be realised in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. The bedroom was important to the ceremonial life of an absolute monarch; Louis XIV of France used to give his first (lever) and last audience (coucher) of the day in his bedchamber. In imitation of Versailles, the bedroom is the largest chamber of Linderhof Palace. By facing north, however, the Linderhof bedroom inverts the symbolism of its Versailles counterpart, showing Ludwig's self-image as a "Night-King."

The location of the palace near Ettal Abbey again presents another interesting point. Because of its architecture Ludwig saw the church of the monastery as the room where the holy grail was preserved. This fact connects the idea of a baroque palace to the one of a "medieval" castle such as Neuschwanstein and reminds of the operas of Richard Wagner whose patron Ludwig was.

Linderhof, in comparison to other palaces, has a rather private atmosphere. In fact, there are only four rooms that have a real function.

This room was used by the king as some kind of living room. He enjoyed sitting in the niche, sometimes reading there the whole night. Because Ludwig II used to sleep in the daytime and stay awake in the night, the mirrors created an unimaginable effect for him when they reflected the light of the candles a thousand times. The parallel placement of some mirrors evoke the illusion of a never ending avenue.

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The middle table has a top with lapis-lazuli, amethyst and chalcedony inlay work and shows the Bavarian coat of arms in glass mosaic.

A carpet made of ostrich plumes.

An ivory candelabra in the alcove with 16 branches.

Two mantelpieces clad with lapis-lazuli and decorated with gilded bronze ornaments.

The two tapestry chambers are almost identical and have no specific function. The western one is sometimes called "Music Room" because of the aeolodion (an instrument combining piano and harmonium) in it. Only the curtains and the coverings on the furniture are real products of the Parisian Gobelin Manufactory. The scenes on the walls are painted on rough canvas in order to imitate real tapestries.

The audience chamber is located to the west of the palace and is flanked by the yellow and lilac cabinets. The cabinets were only used as antechambers to the larger rooms. Ludwig II never used this room to hold an audience. This would have been against the private character of Linderhof and the chamber would have been much too small for it. He rather used it as a study where he thought about new building projects. That there is an audience chamber in Linderhof, however, reminds us of the demand of the king on an absolute monarchy.

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Two round tables with malachite tops, gift of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia to King Ludwig II.

Throne baldachin with ostrich feather bunches (as an oriental symbol of royal power).

This room is located to the east and is flanked by the pink and blue cabinets. The pink cabinet, unlike the other cabinets, had a real function. The king used it as a robing room. The dining room is famous for its disappearing dumb-waiter called "Tischlein deck dich". This table was installed so that Ludwig could dine alone here. Yet the staff had to lay the table for at least four persons because it is said that the king used to talk to imaginary people like Louis XV, Mme de Pompadour or Marie Antoinette while he was eating. For Ludwig II enjoyed the company of those people and admired them. You can find portraits of them in the cabinets, and scenes of their lives everywhere in the palace's rooms.

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Meissen porcelain centrepiece with china flowers.

The model for this room was not Louis XIV's bedchamber in Versailles but the bedroom of the Rich Rooms in Munich Residence. This room was completely rebuilt in 1884 and could not be totally finished until the king's death two years later. The position of the bed itself on steps in the alcove that is closed off by a gilded balustrade gives it the appearance of an altar and thereby glorifies Ludwig II as he slept during the day.

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A glass candelabra with 108 candles.

Two console tables of Meissen porcelain (which was the king's favorite china).

The gardens surrounding Linderhof Palace are considered one of the most beautiful creations of historicist garden design, designed by Court Garden Director Carl von Effner. The park combines formal elements of Baroque style or Italian Renaissance gardens with landscaped sections that are similar to the English garden.

Deriving from the romantic image of animated nature Ludwig was fascinated by trees. For this reason a tall, 300-year-old linden tree was allowed to remain in the formal gardens although disturbing its symmetry. Historic pictures show a seat in it, where Ludwig used to take his "breakfast" at sunset hidden from view amongst the branches. Contrary to common understanding the tree did not give the palace its name. It came from a family called "Linder" that used to cultivate the farm (in German "Hof" = farm) that over centuries had been in the place where now Linderhof palace is.

The palace is surrounded by formal gardens that are subdivided into five sections that are decorated with allegoric sculptures of the continents, the seasons and the elements:

The northern part is characterized by a cascade of thirty marble steps. The bottom end of the cascade is formed by the Neptune fountain and at the top there is a Music Pavilion.

The centre of the western parterre is formed by basin with the gilt figure of "Fama". In the west there is a pavilion with the bust of Louis XIV. In front of it you see a fountain with the gilt sculpture "Amor with dolphins". The garden is decorated with four majolica vases.

The crowning of the eastern parterre is a wooden pavilion containing the bust of Louis XVI. Twenty-four steps below it there is a fountain basin with a gilt sculpture "Amor shooting an arrow". A sculpture of "Venus and Adonis" is placed between the basin and the palace.

The water parterre in front of the palace is dominated by a large basin with the gilt fountain group "Flora and puttos". The fountain's water jet itself is nearly 25 meters high.

The terrace gardens form the southern part of the park and correspond to the cascade in the north. On the landing of the first flight there is the "Naiad fountain" consisting of three basins and the sculptures of water nymphs. In the middle arch of the niche you see the bust of Marie Antoinette of France. These gardens are crowned by a round temple with a statue of Venus formed after a painting by Antoine Watteau (The Embarkation for Cythera).

The landscape garden covers an area of about 50 hectares (125 acres) and is perfectly integrated in the surrounding natural alpine landscape. There are several buildings of different appearance located in the park.

Venus Grotto
The building is wholly artificial and was built for the king as an illustration of the First Act of Wagner's "Tannhäuser". Ludwig liked to be rowed over the lake in his golden swan-boat but at the same time he wanted his own blue grotto of Capri. Therefore, 24 dynamos had been installed and so already in the time of Ludwig II it was possible to illuminate the grotto in changing colours.

Hunding's Hut
This hut was inspired by Richard Wagner's directions for the First Act of the "Valkyrie". Ludwig used to celebrate Germanic feasts in this house.

Gurnemanz Hermitage
Ludwig came here for contemplation every year on Good Friday. For this day he wanted a flowering meadow. If there was no such meadow because there was still snow lying, the garden director had to plant one for the king.

These three structures, the "Venus Grotto", "Hunding's Hut" and "Gurnemanz Hermitage" remind us another time of the operas of Richard Wagner. But besides that and the baroque architecture Ludwig was also interested in the oriental world.

Moorish Kiosk
This building was designed by the Berliner architect Karl von Diebitsch for the International Exhibition in Paris 1867. Ludwig II wanted to buy it but was forestalled by the railroad king Bethel Henry Strousberg. Ludwig bought the pavilion after the bankruptcy of Strousberg. The most notable piece of furniture of this building is the peacock throne.

Moroccan House
This house was actually built in Morocco for the International Exhibition in Vienna 1873. The king bought it in 1878 and redecorated it in a more royal way.

Linderhof Palace

Die Burg Nesselburg ist eine Burgruine südlich des Marktes Nesselwang im Landkreis Ostallgäu in Bayern.

Geschichte

Die Veste wurde gegen Ende des 13. Jahrhunderts von den edelfreien Herren von Rettenberg angelegt. Die erste urkundliche Erwähnung der Burg stammt aus dem Jahr 1302. Kurz darauf verpfändeten die Rettenberger die Herrschaft an das Hochstift Augsburg, erhielten die Herrschaft jedoch als Lehen zurück. Ab 1350 war die „Burch ze Nesselwanch“ der Mittelpunkt eines Pflegamtes, da der letzte Rettenberger Heinrich kinderlos verstorben war. Heinrichs Verwandter Peter von Hohenegg, der Ansprüche auf das Erbe erhoben hatte, erhielt vom Hochstift 1300 Pfund Heller als Entschädigung.

Im Bauernkrieg plünderten die Aufständischen 1525 den Pflegsitz aus und legten Feuer. Danach wurde die Burg wieder bewohnbar gemacht.

Die augsburgischen Pfleger und Vögte bewohnten die Nesselburg bis 1595, als ein erneuter Brand die Räume unbewohnbar machte. 1601 erwarb das Hochstift deshalb ein Haus an der Nesselwanger Hauptstraße als neuen Pflegsitz. Auch dieses Anwesen wurde 1635 beim Nesselwanger Ortsbrand ein Raub der Flammen. Anschließend entstand ein neues – 1976 abgebrochenes – Amtshaus an der alten Stelle.

Die Burg wurde 1996 von einem privaten Käufer erworben, der 1997 Sanierungsmaßnahmen des einsturzgefährdeten Mauerwerks durchführen ließ. Die Sanierung wurde nach einem Jahr jedoch eingestellt.