Hohenschwangau Castle - King Ludwig II's Childhood home

Today we awoke in the town of Schwangau at the Landhotel Guglhupf bed and breakfast and set off to visit two of King Ludwig II's castles.

Hohenschwangau translated literally is "High Swan County Palace" and was built by King Ludwig II father, King Maximilian II in the 19th century as a vacation home.  This area must of had a large population of swans for quite sometime because the first fortress built on this site in the 12th century was called Schwanstein.   

This map shows the ticket center, Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein and the paths to reach each one.

 The town of Hohenschwangau has a few restaurants, hotels and a May Pole.

Tickets are purchased at the Ticket Center located in the middle of Hohenschwangau.  There is a slight discount if you decide to see multiple castles or the museum in one day (ticket prices and hours) and there are parking lots near by that you can leave your car for 5 euro a day.  If you were staying at a hotel in Hohenschwangau you could walk but since we were 2 miles a way in Schwangau, and raining, we drove.  You can also take a bus from the Fussen train station.  The staff is quite helpful to help pick times of tours if you are seeing both sites.

We opted for a carriage ride up to the castle for 6 euro, downhill is 3 euro, and is paid directly to the driver and takes about 15 minutes.

A view of the castle from the gardens.

A gorgeous neo-gothic archway marks the entrance to the castle with quatrofoils and a crest of the Bavarian lion.

A well in the courtyard with a painting of the Virgin Mary, a lion's head spout, a crest of Bavaria and a crest of a swan which pertains to the area around the Schwangau region.

A fountain with four Bavarian lions.

Photos are not allowed inside of the castle unfortunately.   I found these beauties on line.  I love the gold and purple room! 

Maximilian II's study

swan chandelier in dining room

King Ludwig II would observe construction of Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau with a telescope.  This is a view from the garden courtyard.

I borrowed my Dad's Bavarian hat for our trip to Germany - you will see it many more photos in future blogs.

History on the Wittlesbach family:
Ludwig II mother Marie was Prussian and his father Maximilian II was Bavarian. Bavaria was an independent kingdom until 1870 when Ludwig II joined the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian Wars. Ludwig II withdrew even more from politics after joining the empire and became quite the recluse.  If you are interested in more information on Ludwig II's life check out this biography.

Being beer connoisseurs we had to try the local brew, Konig Ludwig Dunkel.  It was amazing and I wish I could get it in the states.  Very smooth and not hoppy - high drinkability factor.

Up Next: Neuschwanstein

Check out aerial photos of King Ludwig's castles in the snow from the Rococo Roamer

Have you visited the castles of King Ludwig II?  What were your thoughts on the style?

Cheers,

Amy

Other posts about our trip to Germany:

Cologne, The Rhine River by ferry and train, Burg Rheinfels - traveling the Rhine, Marksburg Castle, Burg Eltz, Heidleberg , Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Linderhof Palace

What's on tap at the pub

...and knowing which type of tap you need Thirsty Thursday

Cooper at the bar

I have not been home brewing lately so we have been buying commercial kegs to keep our kegerator flowing.  We went on a mission to find one of our favorite German beers, Franziskaner, in keg form.  Our local German restaurant has it on tap so we knew we could find it.   We lovingly call this beer "The Monk one" and in our experience the monks really know how to brew beer!

We found it at a local liquor store that boasts a wide keg selection, Cask and Flask, and picked it up the weekend before our Halloween party.  Since we have a kegerator with a CO2 system we only rent the keg, no bucket or hand pump.  I thought that we would be drinking beer soon after arriving home.

I was set since I already had an international tap that I use on Newcastle.  I took off the domestic tap that we were using for Shocktop, a good summer beer, and reattached the hoses to the international tap.  I looked at the parts and there was a major problem... international does not cover Germany!!! I found that German kegs use the Type A German slider tap after a quick Google search.  My local brewing supply places had already closed for the day so I placed an order through Amazon for the part.  Then came the stressful waiting and fretting that it would not arrive in time for the party because it was coming from Buffalo, New York.  Luckily it did arrive by Wednesday and I was able to pick it up at the post office Thursday at lunch and have beer flowing after work.  The monk beer was a big hit at the party and we still have some to enjoy now.

Here is a chart that explains the sizes of kegs, how many cups, and what the different taps look like.  Follow the link to see a list of beers and the type of tap that they require.  The worst thing is to have a keg of beer that you can not get in to!

Photo Credit follow link to see a chart of beers and tap types

After going to Oktoberfest I think that the Germans use the German Slider tap so that they can tap kegs quickly.  There is no twisting involved like there is for the American or International Sankey taps.  The German tap slides right on and then you push down on the handle to tap.  I have learned my lesson!

Cheers,

Amy