This is Bavarian King Ludwig's II. largest castle. The king was a great fan of Ludwig XIV and in love with Versailles (near Paris, France) so decided to make a replica of it , but only managed to build the central portion before funds ran out. It still unfinished and is located in the middle of the island “Herreninsel-8221; in the lake Chiemsee.
|
|
Favourite spots: |
Even incomplete what exits is very impressive, with French gardens, huge foutains, a big hall of mirrors, and a state room where classical concerts are held.
|
|
What's really great: |
The resemblance between Herrenchiemsee and Versailles was striking with the magnificent staterooms and the Hall of Mirrors. However, Mad Ludwig added his own embellishments, such as the palace entrances with multicolored specialized marble. He created a small swimming pool for his bathroom area, and he devised an innovative dumb waiter for the dining room. His dining room table stands on a large lift that can descend to the kitchen area where the table is set for the next course and then raised back up to the dining area. He wanted to avoid contact with his servants.
|
|
Sights: |
Herrenchiemsee is about 45 minutes east of Munich. You can get there by taking the autobahn A8 towards Salzburg (from Munich). I took exit 107 (the Übersee exit, I think). The dock for the boat was very near the exit.
The boat ride is about 30 minutes. On the island, you can walk to the castle, or take a horse and carriage. The tours for the castle last about 45 minutes.
Be sure to check what time the last boat leaves the island.
|
|
Other recommendations: |
Construction began on May 21, 1878, some time after Ludwig bought the island. He had the architect Georg Dollmann replicate as much as possible the Versailles in France. As an example, the garden façade of Herrenchiemsee is an exact copy of the garden façade of Versailles. The layout of the palace inside is also the same as Versailles. There is even a Great Gallery of Mirrors in Herrenchiemsee. Most of the paintings and murals of the castle depict the life of Louie the XIV. Interestingly, there are no portrait of King Ludwig himelf anywhere in the palace.
As with Neuschwanstein, construction stopped with the death of Ludwig.
|
|
Published on Monday October 27th, 2003
|
|
Publish on Facebook
|
Tue, Aug 17 2004 - 11:45 PM
by jlseatt
Whow, your article is really great. I`ve been to Prien more then 10 times and your report is describing it really nicely! |
Tue, Nov 11 2003 - 11:16 PM
by whereisliz
I recently visited Neuschwanstein and Versailles, and I didn't know about Herrenchiemsee. Thanks for all the historical and practical details! |
Information: |
Login if you are a member, or sign up for a free membership to rate this report and to earn globo points! |
|
Aruba |
|
|
Cayman Islands |
|
|
Estonia |
|
|
|
Finland |
|
|
|
Germany |
|
|
|
|
Greece |
|
|
|
Japan |
|
|
Portugal |
|
|
South Africa |
|
|
United States |
|
|
|