A cascade in Linderhof, Bavaria, Germany.
Who has not tried to replicate Versailles, the famous palace of Louis XIV, the king of France? Just look at Sanssouci, Peterhof, or Schoenbrunn to name a few. The young king of Bavaria, Ludwig II, also didn’t remain uninvolved. When he ascended the throne in 1864, at the age of 18, he immediately started to build his fairy tale castles and palaces. One of them, Linderhof, was supposed to be a new Versailles in the Bavarian Alps near the Linder River.
King Ludwig’s landscaper and Court Garden Director, Carl von Effner (1831-1884), developed fourteen projects of the park before the king realized that this area was too small for a replication of Versailles Park and dropped this idea. Later, it was created on the island of Herrenwörth on Lake Chiemsee and called Herrenchiemsee. Linderhof was destined to become a mini-palace, in fact, a royal “country palace,” and the only building completed in Ludwig’s life. The king spent most of his time there. Today, this is a museum.
Linderhof Palace, Bavaria, Germany.
Water Parterre
Neptune Fontain
Taking photographs is forbidden inside the palace. Why? Later, I will try to take a guess. Meanwhile, let’s go in. Only guided tours are possible. They are conducted in English and German. It was a gloomy autumn morning, so, not surprisingly, Irina and I were the only guests. Our guide switched on soft music and began to talk. I didn’t listen because I was prepared for this visit, and had read everything that was possible to find on King Ludwig and his architectural activity. Instead, I tried to understand why I felt something strange in this building. I have visited more European castles and palaces than I can count, but only there, in Linderhof, did I have such a feeling. What was the matter? I started to understand it near the end of the excursion.
Like everything in the life of the “fairy tale king,” this palace seemed a little bit theatrical, or fake. The building that looks like stone is built of wood. The gobelin room has no gobelins, but just painted à la gobelin walls. Gold is everywhere, too much gold. I understand that the Sun King Louis XIV was able to use all the gold of France to decorate his palace. Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, was able to use tons of gold for decoration of her palace in Tsarskoye Selo. They were absolute monarchs. Ludwig was not (although he dreamed to be). There was also a government which thought that Ludwig spent money on “nothing,” and tried to restrict him.
So why is Linderhof full of gold? Is it gold at all? And if yes, how thick is the layer of gold on the moldings? Unfortunately, I had no opportunity to peel off a piece of gold decoration and test it by sinking my tooth into it. The guide kept her eyes on me the whole time.
Audience room
Bedroom
Venus Grotto (I called it a “concert cave”) is an artificial construction, but created so naturally and masterfully that once inside, you feel as if you are in a real cave deep underneath. It was a concert hall of King Ludwig. Here, boating on the lake, he listened to operas by Wagner all alone. Waves on the cave lake were generated by special machine: one of the first electrical engines in Europe. The water was heated, and young nymphs swam there. It looks like Ludwig “invented” disco light. Lights were changed by the use of metal plates. An advanced theatrical stage.
Venus Grotto
A picturesque area near the Linder River in the Bavarian Alps was one of the favorite hunting places of Ludwig’s father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria, where they often stayed in the forester’s house (later a Royal Lodge) which was on the royal property. As you may know, the Sun King Louis XIV of France built Versailles on the location of his father’s hunting house. Fairy tale King Ludwig did the same. However, he left the Royal Lodge in Linderhof Park, just moved it 300 meters to the west. It’s still there to this day.
There are many interesting and symbolic places in the park. If you have time, you will find them. Here is a map:
The map of Linderhof gardens and park. Click to enlarge.
I highly recommend visiting Linderhof and its gardens. The palace is toy, but charming. The gardens are modest, but cozy. The fountains with their sculptures are splendid. The “concert cave” is artificial, but magical.
Later, we visited Herrenchiemsee New Palace, King Ludwigs own Versailles. Yes, it is a real palace, enormous and majestic, but you know what: If I had been invited to choose where I would prefer to live, I would have chosen Linderhof.
Music Pavilion
More about Germany:
Neuschwanstein Castle: Decoration for Life
History of One Picture: Neuschwanstein Castle
Three Castles of Germany: Marksburg, Burg Eltz, and Burg Stahleck
June 25, 2019 at 10:15 am
Thank you for your ongoing, always superb blog and pictures. While cozy, magical Linderhof may have started as an homage to Versailles it did not become one as much as nearby Herrenchiemsee Schloss did which you mention only in closing. Like Versailles, Herrenchiemsee is a showplace and really to be lived in other than maybe on a warm summer’s day. Thanks again for your ever informative posts. Rolf Achilles
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June 25, 2019 at 10:26 am
Thank you too, Rolf.
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June 25, 2019 at 11:03 am
Your info and photos are always excellent. The inside of the palace with all its “gold” looks quite disgusting to me, but you’ve done a great job of showing the waste and decadence of the building – the misguided goals of yet another “Sun King.” Let’s hope the money the tourists spend on seeing it makes up for the waste of the money it took to build it. Great post, Victor.
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June 25, 2019 at 12:50 pm
Thank you, Anneli.
I am sure the government of Bavaria is very glad that Ludwig built this palace and other his palaces and castles. Today, this objects generate incom. For example, more than 400,000 people visit Linderhof annually. Neuschwanstein Castle has much more visitors.
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June 25, 2019 at 12:57 pm
For many years the income from Neuschwanstein and Linderhof has supported all the restoration and preservation and some of the staff necessary to maintain the many historical sites in all of Bavaria.
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June 25, 2019 at 1:01 pm
But that’s brilliant, isn’t it?
The king still cares about his kingdom.
Thank you, Rolf.
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June 25, 2019 at 1:37 pm
I can see the attraction of Neuschwanstein because it is the “Walt Disney fairy castle,” but this other one … well, it just doesn’t seem to be done in very good taste. But if it brings income, I suppose it’s doing some good.
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June 25, 2019 at 2:56 pm
Mmmm I must do Ludwig II’s castles
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June 25, 2019 at 10:55 pm
It’s a good idea.
Thank you, Timothy.
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June 26, 2019 at 2:55 am
WOW! An amazing place like the historical places in the historical novels I have read. I wish to visit something magical like this. Keep visiting and blogging awesome places! Fighting!
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June 26, 2019 at 4:19 am
Thank you, Ann, I will.
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June 26, 2019 at 5:19 am
So grand and elaborate Victor. I have heard many good things about this castle in Bavaria. Can’t wait to see these castles for myself! 🙂
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June 26, 2019 at 7:54 am
lovely work Victor
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June 26, 2019 at 9:43 am
Thanks a lot, Leo.
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June 26, 2019 at 8:53 pm
The fundamental decorative failing of Linderhof is the scale of its interior spaces. Most of the rooms are too small and ceilings too low to contain the extravagant exuberance of their rococo furnishings. The atmosphere is cramped and oppressive almost everywhere except in the cerulean and gold royal bedroom. (There the space is magical and promises wonderful things to follow.) Nevertheless, all of the decor is remarkably beautiful and worthy of perusal. Ludwig himself oversaw nearly every detail of its execution, sending many things back to the makers for reworking when they did not fulfill his vision. Having grown up at Hohenschwangau castle where the scale of things was surprisingly small, he apparently underestimated the importance of large spaces to the ambitious plans he had. After Linderhof he never made that mistake again.
The romantic myth of Ludwig the Dream King and builder of castles has become quite popular. It is unfortunate that the real monarch was self-absorbed and mentally unstable. He did not love people, but his legacy to the people of his kingdom was prosperity through tourism. It is too bad that he (and his money) did not last long enough to realize his fantasy of building a Chinese palace and another Gothic castle even grander than his incomparable Neuschwanstein.
Ludwig was undeniably mad, but it can certainly be argued that the real madness would have been squandering the treasury on an unwinnable war with Prussia. Better to have spent the money creating palaces than cemeteries.
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June 26, 2019 at 11:13 pm
Exactly, David. I even didn’t think about the size of rooms and the height of ceilings as a reason of that strange feeling inside the palace. Exactly.
Many thanks for such a thoughtful comment. This is a real esse.
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June 27, 2019 at 3:57 pm
Great post. Really interesting read, and fantastic photos.
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June 28, 2019 at 12:29 am
Thanks a lot for reading it and commenting.
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June 29, 2019 at 7:57 am
One of my favourite palaces I have been to. Great post and beautiful photos! 🙂
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June 30, 2019 at 12:39 am
Thanks a lot.
This is a cozy place indeed.
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July 5, 2019 at 11:41 am
Always love your posts for the history, travel, beautiful photos, and your personal interpretation of the experience, Victor – thank you! I’ve heard of King Ludwig and his fairytale castles, but have not seen pictures of Linderhof. Thanks for this journey :-)!
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July 5, 2019 at 12:29 pm
Thank you very much for reading and commenting, Lara. It’s always nice to get such comments.
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July 8, 2019 at 4:51 am
That Ludwig was one crazy guy. I remember visiting Neuschwanstein and thinking “what the hell…”.
Imagine having the ability to blow that much cash…
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July 8, 2019 at 6:30 am
Such “crazy” men make a history of a country.
When I say “Bavaria,” which associations you have besides BMW and beer? In my case, it is Neuschwanstein, or Linderhof, or Herrenchiemsee. Who built them?
How many Bavarian kings people still remember? Only one.
Thank you, Frank.
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July 15, 2019 at 5:22 am
Victor, next time you should have Irina really engage/distract the guide and get your hands on some of that gold :). Kidding aside, I often have mixed feeling visiting palaces. I sometimes feel like I’m not allowed to take everything at my own pace and often disappointed when photos are not allowed. I tend to enjoy the gardens more. Beatiful shots as always. I feel they always capture the romance of the places you visit.
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July 16, 2019 at 2:54 pm
Thank you, Lissette.
I don’t understand why, but Germans are especially strict about photographing in their castles and palaces, not to mention peeling off a piece of gold decoration there.
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