Disneyland Castle Modeled on Neuschwanstein Castle

The Disneyland castle in Sleeping Beauty was modeled on the Neuschwanstein castle.

It has also appeared in a number of movies including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Neuschwanstein Castle is breathtakingly beautiful in both its outer appearance and setting on a hilltop with a mountainous backdrop and lake setting, just outside of Fussen.

This beautiful castle is one of the castles that was commissioned by King Ludwig and when he died in 1886 construction ceased with 60% of the rooms unfinished.

The castle was originally called New Hohenschwangau Castle and was renamed after Ludwig’s death to Neushwanstein Castle “Castle of the Swan Knight”.

The nearby town of Fussen has built a cottage tourist industry that caters to the many thousands of visitors that arrive daily by the busload. This industry was built away from the town so that that the town didn’t get overrun.

A whole village has been built complete with restaurants and fast food places, souvenir stand and a large ticketing center. We brought lots of souveniers, and I brought a really nice book full of great pictures and information and about King Ludwig and his castles.

We had a delightful meal in one of the restaurants before embarking on the trek up to a bridge that spanned a chasm over a river valley far below, and overlooks the castle, and provides an excellent opportunity for a photo shoot.

Beyond the bridge is the summit from where you can see the front view of the castle. The summit is a popular area with hang gliders and there were quite a few of them circling over the castle. You can also reach the summit by gondola from the town of Schwangau.

We stood in the rather long queue waiting our turn to enter the inner courtyard.

The castle was built with many features that would be considered innovative for the time.
Each floor had running water and automatic flushing toilets. There was also a warm air heating system that warmed the entire building and a hot water system for the kitchen and the bath.