In the authentic style of the old German knights' castles It was here that Ludwig II planned to build his New Hohenschwangau Castle (it only acquired the name of Neuschwanstein after the death of the king). It was to be a better recreation of an ideal medieval castle than Hohenschwangau.

The king who commissioned and built Neuschwanstein Castle was King Ludwig II of Bavaria, often referred to by the nicknames "The Fairytale King" or "Mad King Ludwig." Ascending to the throne in 1864 at the age of 18, Ludwig was a patron of the arts and a devoted admirer of the composer Richard Wagner. He built Neuschwanstein as a private retreat and a monument to the world of German legend and Wagnerian opera, rather than for functional defense or royal representation. Construction began in 1869, but the castle was never fully completed; Ludwig only spent a total of about 172 days living in the unfinished palace before his mysterious death in 1886. Shortly after he died, the castle—which he intended to be a strictly private sanctuary—was opened to the paying public to help settle the massive debts he had accrued during its construction. Today, Neuschwanstein is one of the most visited castles in the world and served as the primary inspiration for the design of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.