In life, King Ludwig of Bavaria was considered eccentric at best, outright insane at worst. Mystery and controversy surround his death, though many speculate that he was murdered by his countrymen to keep the state from going bankrupt building his fantastical inventions.

Fairytale Castle above the Valley

What those countrymen didn't realize is that he would build arguably the most recognized castle in the world, becoming synonymous with that mythical romanticized past that seems to be conjured by the Bavarian countryside. What was once considered folly and waste now accounts for a significant portion of the tourism revenue in the region.

This castle is little more than a century and a half old, but built along completely fantastic lines. Ludwig was enamored of Wagnerian opera, and the mythical tales told in them. This castle was meant to be his play-house (literally and figuratively: the top floor has an exquisite theatre for seeing some of his favorite plays.) All the details -- the turrets, battlements, and spires -- were completely anachronistic when the castle was built. King Ludwig met his untimely end before the interior of this castle could be finished. Four of the seven floors remain in stark white plaster. However, those areas that were completed boast some of the finest craftsmanship the countryside had to offer.

Castle from Valley

Hohenschwangau, Childhood Castle

Just beneath the fairytale castle, on its own promontory, rests a somewhat more modest castle where Ludwig was born and grew up. Hohenschwangau, seen here from the trail leading to the Marienbrucke, was the favorite of Ludwig's mother.

This is one of my favorite views of the castle. Our April visit brought us here before the first leaves of spring could erupt, leaving the castle shrouded in these naked ash trees. Gleaming white towers shine through the pale trunks, almost as if they were meant to immitate them.

Castle behind Naked Trees