The “fairy-tale” king, Ludwig II of Bavaria, built this dazzling Neuschwanstein palace to withdraw from public life after losing his power in the Austro-Prussian war. It's believed that he built his new castle as the centerpiece for an imagined kingdom—one in which he was the true king.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria built Neuschwanstein Castle as a personal refuge and a theatrical monument to his ideals, rather than for defense or administrative purposes. Ludwig was a deeply reclusive monarch who became increasingly disillusioned with the realities of 19th-century politics, particularly after Bavaria lost its independence to Prussia. He sought to create a private "dream world" inspired by the Middle Ages and the operatic works of his close friend, Richard Wagner. The castle's interiors are heavily themed around German legends like the Swan Knight (Lohengrin) and Tannhäuser. Ludwig viewed the project as a stage set where he could live out his fantasies of being a medieval absolute monarch. Ironically, the king who built it to escape the public only spent about 172 days there before his mysterious death in 1886. Shortly after, the "private" retreat was opened to the public to pay off the massive debts incurred during its construction, eventually becoming the most famous castle in the world and the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle.