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2020年07月31日 15:16
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The castle is built on river Cher, offering one of the most beautiful sights as it reflects in the water. Nicknamed “Chateau des Dames”, it owes much of its charm to several influential ladies in French history. The surrounding gardens and the castle itself aren’t the only beautiful things to admire here. Within the castle, there are impressive collections of Renaissance furniture, tapestries and many masterpieces.
2 – Neuschwanstein, Germany
This fairy tale castle doesn’t have a very long history to brag with, but its beauty makes all of us admire it in silence (and without taking photos of the interiors). It started its life in the 19th century as homage to Richard Wagner. After the death of Ludwig (the king who commissioned it), the castle was open for the public. The grounds have a theatrical aura to them which only helps to bring more visitors (about 1.3 million annually).
Does this castle also look familiar? It should because it was featured in many movies and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park and the Cinderella Castles at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland.
3 - Miramare Castle, Trieste, Italy
The beautiful castle was built in the 19th century. The grounds include a cliff and seashore park which gives the castle its beautiful and romantic look. The entire grounds were completely re-landscaped to accommodate the numerous tropical plans and trees, which are now overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
The castle located in the Trieste region was finished in 1860 and the eclectic style dominates the entire building. Currently, the castle houses a museum. The original furnishings, ornaments and furniture still can be admired in the castle’s rooms.
4 – Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland
If you are after a sumptuous vacation in an incredible place, Ashford Castle should be your destination. The imposing interiors blend nicely with the majestic entrances, creating a unique atmosphere. The spacious rooms are elegant, offering the guests a taste of what nobility experienced hundreds of years ago.
Built in 1228, the castle is very well preserved to retain its centuries old beauty. The guests can choose between numerous activities, including falconry, horseback riding and hunting.
5 – Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic
The largest castle in the world is also one of the most beautiful in Central-Eastern Europe. Prague Castle started its life in the 9th century with a church. Centuries later a Romanesque palace was erected here and in the 14th century the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style. After a big fire which destroyed much of the castle in the 16th century, it has been renovated and some buildings in renaissance style appeared.
6 – Peles Castle, Sinaia, Romania
Considered by many one of the most beautiful castles in Eastern Europe, Peles Castle is the pride of Sinaia, a mountain town located close to Brasov, Romania. Although the castle combines elemen
ts of several architectural styles, the German Renaissance one dominates the building and contributes to its stunning beauty. Currently a museum, Peles Castle boasts 160 rooms, out of which the Big Armory Room and the Reception Room are among the most interesting.
Almost adjacent to Peles, we can find Pelisor and Foisor, two smaller castle-like buildings, which are also museums (and can be visited). The domain belongs to the Romanian Royal Family.
7 – Burg Hohenwerfen, Salzburg, Austria
Located high above the Salzach Valley, between the Tennen and Hagen mountains and at just 40 km from Salzburg, the castle fits perfectly the description of a fairy tale place. The former fortification was built in the 11th century but to secure the area, three castles were later extended, including this one.
The Hohenwerfen is today an interesting adventure castle for its visitors. There’s a romantic tavern to explore, an interesting weapons chamber to discover and the historic Falconry Center with daily flight demonstrations.
In case this looks really familiar, you should know that the castle appears in the background of The Sound of Music during “Do Re Mi”.
8 – Palace of Pena, Sintra , Portugal
The oldest palace inspired by European Romanticism stands on top of a hill overlooking the city of Sintra. Its history started in the Middle Ages when a chapel was built on the very same hilltop. Later, a monastery was built but, by the 18th century it was reduced to ruins because of a lightning and an earthquake. The place remained in ruins for decades until 1838 when Ferdinand II bought the area and decided to build a palace.
The palace is a true expression of the European Romanticism, mixing several styles: Neo-Gothic, Islamic and Neo-Renaissance. The beautiful park which surrounds the castle comprises exotic plants and trees.
9 – Alcázar of Segovia, Segovia, Spain
The Alcázar of Segovia is perched atop a rock in the old city of Segovia. Just like many other Spanish castles, it started off as an Arab fort. During the Middle Ages it was the preferred residence of the monarchs. The current castle dates mostly from those times.
Today the castle is one of the three major attractions in the city and one of the most popular historic sites in the country.
10 – Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, UK
Perched atop Castle Hill, it dominates the city of Edinburgh. It is one of the few castles in Europe which still have a military garrison (although for ceremonial purposes only). No matter where you are in the castle, the views are delightful. On a clear day, if you look to the north, you can see the mountains of The Kingdom of Fife in the distance.
The true beauty of the castle is highlighted during Military Tattoo, which takes place each year on the Esplanade. The oldest structure in the castle is St Margaret’s Chapel which dates from the 12th century.
Edinburgh is served by many low-cost carriers from different European cities.
11 – Vajdahunyad Castle
d I agreed to spend some time in Bavaria. Needless to say, this was not a hardship for either of us. We ate and drank well in both countries and collected plenty of interesting stories.
Where Fairy Tales Come From
A recurring theme in the sights we saw in Germany—and believe me, I mean this in the best and most complimentary way—was wackiness. I’m not just talking about lederhosen and sauerkraut either, though it has always puzzled me how such things came to exist. A particular slice of German history we became well acquainted with was the rule of Ludwig II, king of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. While the many stories about Ludwig are strange and colorful (and some are featured as Interesting Things of Other Days) his most famous follies are the castles he built—especially his grandest and best-known castle, Neuschwanstein.
Neuschwanstein is a beautiful castle set in one of the most scenic locations on Earth. If it looks a bit familiar, that may be because Walt Disney used it as inspiration for Cinderella’s Castle at the Disney theme parks. It really does evoke images of fairy tales, in more ways than one. But the story of its origin is one of tragedy, despair, and outright weirdness.
Swan Song
To understand the story, you’ll need to know a bit about Ludwig. As a child, he loved swans. This is not surprising, considering the castle he lived in was called Hohenschwangau (or “high region of the swan”) and contained artwork depicting the story of Lohengrin, a medieval knight of the Holy Grail who rescues a princess with the aid of a swan. Ludwig liked to feed swans and draw pictures of them, and when at age thirteen he heard of Richard Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin,” he was very excited. He memorized the entire libretto, and this led him to an interest in Wagner’s other music and writings. Within a few years, this interest turned into an obsession. In 1863, Ludwig got a copy of Wagner’s “The Ring Cycle.” In the preface, Wagner talks about “the miserable state of the German theater,” and that “a German Prince would need to be found to provide the required funds” to produce the opera. Ludwig took this as his personal mission. The very next year, at age eighteen, Ludwig became king when his father died. His first official duty was to send for Wagner and have him brought to Munich.
Wagner, who at that time was in his fifties, was a gifted musician but not, apparently, a very nice guy. History records Wagner as arrogant and self-centered, prone to excess, indiscretion, and intolerance. It so happened that at the very time Ludwig summoned him to Munich, Wagner was trying to evade his creditors and was very much in need of a patron. So Ludwig and Wagner struck up an almost symbiotic relationship. Ludwig funded Wagner’s work and put him up in a handsome villa, and Wagner played the part of mentor and idol. Not long thereafter, though, amid reports of yet another affair and worries that Wagner might be e
xerting too much influence over the young king, he was forced to leave Bavaria and move to Switzerland. Although Ludwig was upset, he continued to support Wagner, and the two kept up a steady correspondence.
Meanwhile, Ludwig was not having a very good time as king. He lost an important war against Prussia, was forced to submit his army to Austrian control, and then ended an unhappy engagement. Depressed and bitter, he withdrew from the public eye as much as possible and consoled himself by planning the construction of several great castles. In 1869, work began on his most ambitious castle, Neuschwanstein (which means “new swan stone”).
Reinventing the Castle
Ludwig had always wanted a medieval castle, so he had Neuschwanstein built in what you might call a neo-Romanesque style. That is to say, it was made to look a lot older than it really was, and unlike authentic medieval castles, it had such luxuries as forced-air heating and indoor plumbing. But the most distinctive feature of the castle was that it was designed to be a stage for Wagner’s operas, both literally and figuratively. Some rooms were designed explicitly as places where an opera might be performed, but in every room and corridor of the castle the architecture and artwork reflected the German mythology that formed the basis of Wagner’s operas. All but a very few of Wagner’s operas are depicted in one way or another in the castle. One of the most unusual rooms—if you can call it that—is called the Grotto. It’s actually an incredibly convincing artificial cave, complete with stalactites and a waterfall. The Grotto was intended to represent a cave from Wagner’s opera “Tannh?user.”
Around the time construction began, estimates were that Ludwig would be able to move into the castle within about three years. But the work proceeded at a painfully slow pace and more than a decade later, the castle was still not complete. In 1883 Wagner died, causing Ludwig tremendous grief. So the composer never actually set foot inside the castle that had been built in his honor. A year later, Ludwig decided to move in, even though the structure was still unfinished and the throne room was not yet ready to hold a throne. But the king resided there for a grand total of only eleven nights. After Ludwig died under suspicious circumstances in 1886 at the age of 41, construction on Neuschwanstein continued for another eight years. When the builders finally stopped, only a third of the rooms had been finished and decorated.
Without Ludwig, Wagner may never have achieved the successes he did, and without Wagner, Neuschwanstein would never have been built. But there is much more to the story of the life and death of King Ludwig II than Neuschwanstein. The “swan king,” as he is sometimes called, built other equally interesting castles and led a fascinating, if deeply troubled life. His story, like his castles, reminds me that there’s more to Bavaria than meets the eye. —Joe Kissel
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