霍恩施万高城堡, 巴伐利亚, 德国 Hohenschwangau Castle, Bavaria, Germany (© Mespilia/Shutterstock)

霍恩施万高城堡, 巴伐利亚, 德国 Hohenschwangau Castle, Bavaria, Germany (© Mespilia/Shutterstock)

An Alpine fairytale castle

During a walking tour in the spring of 1829, Crown Prince (and future King) Maximilian II of Bavaria fell in love with these forested mountains and Alpine lakes, so three years later he bought the dilapidated remains of a 12th-century castle overlooking the village of Hohenschwangau. The yellow neo-Gothic castle that Maximilian built to replace the earlier ruins became the summer home and hunting retreat for the king, his wife Marie of Prussia, and their two sons, Ludwig and Otto. Hohenschwangau Castle became a kind of fantasy palace, particularly for the two young princes, who spent their time traipsing through the forest, reciting poetry, and staging scenes from the Romantic operas of Richard Wagner.

After the death of King Maximilian in 1864, Ludwig ascended to the throne and moved into his father's rooms in Hohenschwangau castle. He ordered that stars be painted onto the bedroom's ceiling and had them illuminated by hidden oil lamps. Ludwig and his successors made few other modifications, so most of the rest of the castle remains unchanged even today—the 19th-century interiors contain period furniture, and preserved on the walls are more than 90 frescoes depicting heroic German folklore and the medieval legends of Wagner's operas.

阿尔卑斯山童话城堡

在1829年春天的一次徒步旅行中，巴伐利亚的王储（和未来国王）马克西米利安二世爱上了这些森林覆盖的山脉和阿尔卑斯山湖泊，因此三年后，他买下了一座12世纪的城堡的破旧遗骸，俯瞰着霍恩施旺高村。马克西米利安为取代早期遗址而建造的黄色新哥特式城堡成为国王、普鲁士的妻子玛丽和他们的两个儿子路德维希和奥托的夏季家园和狩猎撤退地。霍恩施万高城堡成了一座梦幻宫殿，尤其是对两位年轻的王子来说，他们花时间在森林中穿山，背诵诗歌，并上演理查德·瓦格纳的浪漫歌剧场景。

1864年马克西米利安国王去世后，路德维希登上王位，搬进了他父亲在霍恩施旺高城堡的房间。他命令把星星涂在卧室的天花板上，用隐藏的油灯照亮它们。路德维希和他的继任者几乎没有进行其他修改，因此城堡的其他大部分仍然保持不变——19世纪的室内装着时期的家具，墙壁上保存着90多幅壁画，描绘了德国英雄的民间传说和瓦格纳歌剧的中世纪传说。