 1 Thursday 1 July, 2010 It is only a ½ hour drive from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to King Ludwig's Linderhof castle. |
 2 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We park the car in the visitor's parking area and see this amusing sign at the gift store. Caution! Teenager in puberty • Of unsound mind • Can do everything • Knows everything • Sensitive, irritable |
 3 Thursday 1 July, 2010 There was quite a bit of walking ahead of us with an ungoodly portion of it up hill. |
 4 Thursday 1 July, 2010 When we enter the palace grounds it is like entering the pages of a fairy tale. White swans glide over a lake surrounded by immaculate gardens. |
 5 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Linderhof Palace (Schloss Linderhof) is near Oberammergau and Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed |
 6 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Ludwig's three castles are: Schloss Linderhof . Schloss Neuschwanstein (previously described in this photojournal) and the most elaborate of them all, Schloss Herrenchiemsee which is modelled on the Versailles Palace in France. |
 7 Thursday 1 July, 2010 In 1867 Ludwig visited Viollet-le-Duc's work at Pierrefonds, the Palace of Versailles in France and the Wartburg near Eisenach in the German state of Thuringia which largely influenced the style of the three palaces' construction. |
 8 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The cost of Ludwig's castles was enormous • Linderhof 1863 to 1886 8,460,937 Marks Finished • Neuschwanstein 1869 to 1892 6,180,047 Marks Unfinished • Herrenchiemsee 1878 to 1885 16,579,674 Marks Unfinished At the time 20 German marks was equal to £1 sterling. |
 9 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Ludwig used his personal fortune, supplemented annually from 1873 by 270,000 marks from the Welfenfonds (a fund resulting from the seized assets of the Hanoverian royal family), to fund the construction of his castles. This area is called the water parterre. |
 10 Thursday 1 July, 2010 At the Southern end of the water parterre, series of steps lead to the Terrace Gardens and from there to the Temple of Venus. In the middle arch on the landing above the fountain is the bust of Marie Antoinette of France. |
 11 Thursday 1 July, 2010 On the first landing there is a "Naiad fountain" consisting of three basins and the sculptures of water nymphs. A naked hussy overlooks the scene. |
 12 Thursday 1 July, 2010 In Greek mythology, the Naiads were a type of nymph (female spirit) who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. |
 13 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Odd looking sea creatures adorn the second bowl of the fountain. |
 14 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Inside the palace reflects Ludwig's fascination with the absolutist government of Ancien Régime France. Ludwig saw himself as the "Moon King", a romantic shadow of the earlier "Sun King", Louis XIV of France. |
 15 Thursday 1 July, 2010 A set of stairs leads to the Terrace Garden. Every detail is perfect even to the flowers in the end pot and the flowers at the end of the garden. |
 16 Thursday 1 July, 2010 In the 1880s, Ludwig’s construction plans proceeded at full speed. He planned a new castle on the Falkenstein near Pfronten in the Allgäu, a Byzantine palace in the Graswangtal and a Chinese summer palace by the Plansee in Tyrol. |
 17 Thursday 1 July, 2010 These projects provided employment for many hundreds of labourers and brought a considerable flow of money to the relatively poor Bavarian regions where his castles were built. |
 18 Thursday 1 July, 2010 In winter, Ludwig enjoyed moonlit sleigh rides in an elaborate eighteenth century sleigh, complete with footmen in eighteenth century livery. |
 19 Thursday 1 July, 2010 I climb the steps to the next level of the Terrace Gardens. |
 20 Thursday 1 July, 2010 I swing the camera around 180° to capture the rest of the upper level. |
 21 Thursday 1 July, 2010 From there, there is one more staircase to ascend before reaching the Temple of Venus |
 22 Thursday 1 July, 2010 A round temple with a statue of Venus, flanked by two putti, crowns the gardens. Antoine Watteau's painting The Embarkation for Cythera was the inspiration for the Temple of Venus. Cythera was the birthplace of Venus. |
 23 Thursday 1 July, 2010 From this level the gardens appear more intricate than viewing them at eye level. The fleu-di-lis pattern is repeated throughout the estate |
 24 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Time draws near for our tour of the palace. We pass by the gilt fountain group "Flora and puttos". In Roman mythology, Flora was the goddess of flowers and the season of spring (i.e. fertility) |
 25 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The fountain rises about 25 metres into the air. |
 26 Thursday 1 July, 2010 It is time for us to tour the castle and it is gross. Every square inch of every wall is decorated with gold or porcelain such that it is a visual nightmare. Apparently Ludwig modelled the interior on rooms in the Versailles Palace in France |
 27 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The Neptune fountain forms the bottom end of the cascade and at the top there is a Music Pavilion. |
 28 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The music pavillion. You don't have to climb the 30 marble steps as the road circles around to join the pavillion at the top. |
 29 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The eastern parterre is crowned by a wooden pavilion containing a bust of Louis XVI who was King of France before his deposition and execution during the French Revolution |
 30 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Below the pavillion in front of us is a fountain with a gilt sculpture "Amor shooting an arrow". A sculpture of "Venus and Adonis" is situated between the fountain and the palace. |
 31 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We walk up hill to the Grotto of Venus via a vine-covered walkway. |
 32 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We wait at the entrance of the grotto until it is time for the English Language tour to begin. |
 33 Thursday 1 July, 2010 As we enter the grotto, A Wagnerian opera is playing. The building is wholly artificial and represents a scene from the first act of Wagner's "Tannhäuser". |
 34 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The grotto is a very elaborate theatre constructed for Ludwig's private use. The curtain behind the boat rises as the performance begins with the orchestra situated on the platform to the right of the stage. |
 35 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Ludwig liked to be rowed over the lake in his golden swan boat but at the same time he wanted his own blue grotto of Capri. So he had 24 dynamos installed to illuminate the set not only in blue but other colours as well. |
 36 Thursday 1 July, 2010 "The State Building Authority Weilheim and the Bavarian Palace Department are currently (2013) developing a concept for the passage of time have become necessary restoration of the Venus Grotto." Translation courtesy of Google. |
 37 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The exterior of the Venus Grotto brings you back to reality with a rush. |
 38 Thursday 1 July, 2010 As we leave the grotto to explore the rest of the grounds, we can see the Temple of Venus. |
 39 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The estate is maintained by the Bavarian Department of State Owned Palaces. The department looks after the palaces and residences that remained after the royal family was relieved of its power. |
 40 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The Department of Palaces has gradually taken over a number of other properties as well so that it is currently represented in six out of the seven regions of Bavaria with 45 palaces, castles and residences, 27 historic gardens and 21 lakes |
 41 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We head for the tea house expecting that we should be able to get a cup of tea there. We travel along this gravel road to get there. |
 42 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Flowers that have to be planted and carefully nurtured in Australia grow freely beside the path. |
 43 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We must have misunderstood the translation because it was the Moorish Kiosk and not a tea house. |
 44 Thursday 1 July, 2010 It was designed by the Berliner architect Karl von Diebitsch for the Prussian exhibit at the International Exhibition in Paris 1867. Ludwig II wanted to buy it but was forestalled by the railroad king Bethel Henry Strousberg. |
 45 Thursday 1 July, 2010 After Strousberg's bankruptcy, Ludwig II bought the building for Linderhof Palace Park in 1876 and had it rebuilt and reappointed to his specifications. |
 46 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The decoration on either side of the front door reflects an idealised interpretation of Eastern Islamic art. Very intricate but quite different from the Middle Eastern style. |
 47 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The Moorish Kiosk is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the stunning views |
 48 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Across the main entrance door sits a stained glass window done in Islamic geometric style. |
 49 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Inside the Kiosk, the window comes alive with sunlight streaming through it. It isn't genuine Islamic because there is no repetition of a theme. Nice though. |
 50 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The main point of interest inside is the peacock throne. |
 51 Thursday 1 July, 2010 My ankle is extremely sore after the walk up the hill to the Grotto. |
 52 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We decide it's time to leave and head for the exit. |
 53 Thursday 1 July, 2010 A gravel path leads us back to the palace - fortunately, it's downhill. |
 54 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The gravel path takes us to another garden which goes to the rear side of the statue of King Louis XVI, then to the Eastern Parterre |
 55 Thursday 1 July, 2010 We pass the southern parterre again where the fountain is broadcasting at full volume. |
 56 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Ludwig had a special fascination for trees so he allowed the tall, 300-year-old linden tree near the steps to remain in the formal gardens although it disturbed the gardens' symmetry. Interesting botanical note: Linden trees are hermaphroditic, having flowers with both male and female parts, pollinated by insects. |
 57 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The tree did not give the palace its name; it came from a family called "Linder" that used to cultivate a farm that once occupied this area (Hof = farm). |
 58 Thursday 1 July, 2010 As we head for the exit we realise that reality does not always match fantasy: there is swan poo everywhere |
 59 Thursday 1 July, 2010 As we near the exit, we see a sign pointing to the Moroccan House. |
 60 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Ludwig acquired the Moroccan House at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878. It was then remodelled inside to Ludwig's requirements and built on the Stockalpe near the Austrian border - some distance from its present location. |
 61 Thursday 1 July, 2010 A private individual acquired the wooden building after the king's death and moved it to Oberammergau. The state bought it back in 1980 and reconstructed it in the palace park in 1998. |
 62 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Inside the building is an amazing display of Islamic style art. |
 63 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The ceiling is particularly intricate and ornate. Presumably the scribble at the bottom is supposed to represent Arabic text but it does not look genuine to me. Whatever it is, it ain't Arabic. |
 64 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The lower panel is reminiscent of the three-dimensional mocárabe vaulting in the Alhambra. |
 65 Thursday 1 July, 2010 The fencing is quite elaborate but it doesn't look genuine Islamic to me. |
 66 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Probably because this motif is based on the fleur-de-lis which is a theme carried on throughout the castle and its grounds. Still very nice though. |
 67 Thursday 1 July, 2010 "Mad" King Ludwig may have been decidedly eccentric but he left some magnificent assets behind him to be enjoyed by all of the world's peoples. How many others of history's dead potentates can make such a claim? |
 68 Thursday 1 July, 2010 Shortly after leaving Linderhof, we see the Ettal Abbey. It has a community of more than 50 monks and is a major tourist attraction. Next stop: Eagle's Nest and the Bunker |
