King Ludwig II of Bavaria loved medieval legends and the operas of Richard Wagner. In 1869 he laid the foundation stone of a new castle on a crag above the Pöllat gorge, near the castle where he had spent his childhood.
Neuschwanstein looks like a knight's castle, but it was built with modern technology: it had central heating, running water and even a telephone. The king lived in it for only a few months. He died in mysterious circumstances in June 1886, before it was finished, and the castle opened to visitors just weeks later.
Its towers inspired Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. In 2025 it was listed by UNESCO as part of the Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
