HIER DIE FOTOS:
(Do click on the helicopters in the sky to get the additional panoramas mentioned below.)
Und hier ist der Text auf der Webseite:
This virtual tour concludes our series of panoramas about the most beautiful castle in Bavaria - Neuschwanstein (click to open our first virtual tour above the castle). Around the famous castle located many other attractions. We were able to capture the castle Hohenschwangau. We have done even a night panorama. We also flew over the town of Fussen, so you can look at this town in our tour.
Germany is the land of fairy tales that
gave the world Wilhelm Hauff and The Brothers Grimm, for example.
Germany is also home to the most magical castle on the planet,
Neuschwanstein Castle, the name of which translates as «The New Swan
Cliff». It was built in the second half of the nineteenth century by
Ludwig II of Bavaria, or as they called him, «The Fairy-Tale King».
Ludwig II holds a special place amongst
other German rulers. What set him apart from his stringent and
warrior-like predecessors was his romanticism and dreamy character, so
much so that he channelled all of his statesman's passion (alongside
with state funds) towards making his dreams come true, dreams of
magical countries populated by fairy-tale creatures.
Disillusioned by the daily routines of
Munich, Ludwig II was not interested in its problems. Instead, day by
day he became more and more submerged in his own dream world. This gave
the world several castles - Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof and
Neuschwanstein, each one is a masterpiece of world architecture,
enchanting us with its weightlessness and fairy-tale silhouettes with
magnificent mountains as a backdrop.
Wartburg Castle was chosen as the model
for Neuschwanstein as it is the only remaining castle from the feudal
period in Bavaria. Ludwig the II's creation surpassed the original. At
the time the King was very deeply moved by Richard Wagner's opera
«Lohengrin», he saw himself in the opera's main character, the noble
white swan-knight, a fairy-tale hero of the ancient legends. And with
the help of architects he created his own «Swan Castle».
The walls of the castle depict the
magical world of «The Song of The Nibelungs» («Nibelungenlied»),
medieval legends of Przival, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser, The Holy Grail,
Tristan and Isolde... The masters spent a long time working very
carefully on every hall and every panel painting, with every detail a
true masterpiece. This is also the reason why the building work took so
long and failed to reach completion even in Ludwig's lifetime. As an
example, the wood carving in one bedroom took 14 carpenters 4 and a
half years.
Yet the King had the incredible ability
to combine fantasies with reality, and despite the castle's heavenly
appearance, it was equipped with all the modern technology of its time.
The rooms in the royal residence were fitted with hot air central
heating, toilets were equipped with an automatic flushing system,
electric bells were in place to summon servants and some floors even
had telephones!
Neuschwanstein is first and foremost a
true fairy tale made of stone. It became the prototype for the Sleeping
Beauty castle in Disneyland Paris and a source of inspiration for
Tchaikovsky's ballet «The Swan Lake». But in the end it drove the King
insane, and instead of attending to the urgent duties of his country as
a ruler, he went on expeditions, following the footsteps of Wilhelm
Tell or had dinner with the spirit of Louis XIV. Night became day and
day became night for Ludwig II and for that he was nicknamed The Moon
King.
According to Bavarian law a king can be
removed from power if found unfit to govern. It is not surprising then
that eventually (in 1886) he was deposed. He was transported to the
Berg Castle and died the next day in a lake under mysterious
circumstances together, with the psychiatrist who diagnosed him as
insane. These mysterious events have contributed to the intriguing
image of the castle. Just two months after the King's death, the
unfinished Neuschwanstein was open to visitors!
And it was the right thing to do. No
stories or photos of Neuschwanstein can possibly depict its beauty.
Once you have admired our aerial panoramas, we strongly recommend you
see the fairy tale for yourself. Getting to Neuschwanstein Castle:
there are trains and taxis available from nearby towns.
The walls of the castle depict the
magical world of «The Song of The Nibelungs» («Nibelungenlied»),
medieval legends of Przival, Lohengrin and Tannhäuser, The Holy Grail,
Tristan and Isolde... The masters spent a long time working very
carefully on every hall and every panel painting, with every detail a
true masterpiece. This is also the reason why the building work took so
long and failed to reach completion even in Ludwig's lifetime. As an
example, the wood carving in one bedroom took 14 carpenters 4 and a
half years.
Yet the King had the incredible ability
to combine fantasies with reality, and despite the castle's heavenly
appearance, it was equipped with all the modern technology of its time.
The rooms in the royal residence were fitted with hot air central
heating, toilets were equipped with an automatic flushing system,
electric bells were in place to summon servants and some floors even
had telephones!
Neuschwanstein is first and foremost a
true fairy tale made of stone. It became the prototype for the Sleeping
Beauty castle in Disneyland Paris and a source of inspiration for
Tchaikovsky's ballet «The Swan Lake». But in the end it drove the King
insane, and instead of attending to the urgent duties of his country as
a ruler, he went on expeditions, following the footsteps of Wilhelm
Tell or had dinner with the spirit of Louis XIV. Night became day and
day became night for Ludwig II and for that he was nicknamed The Moon
King.
According to Bavarian law a king can be
removed from power if found unfit to govern. It is not surprising then
that eventually (in 1886) he was deposed. He was transported to the
Berg Castle and died the next day in a lake under mysterious
circumstances together, with the psychiatrist who diagnosed him as
insane. These mysterious events have contributed to the intriguing
image of the castle. Just two months after the King's death, the
unfinished Neuschwanstein was open to visitors!
And it was the right thing to do. No
stories or photos of Neuschwanstein can possibly depict its beauty.
Once you have admired our aerial panoramas, we strongly recommend you
see the fairy tale for yourself. Getting to Neuschwanstein Castle:
there are trains and taxis available from nearby towns.
Technically the photo shoot of this
type shouldn't take more than two days. However, we decided to give it
some extra time... As it turned out, it was a wise decision.
Mountains stay mountains (even if it's just low foothills of Alps in
Southern Bavaria), so the weather is rather unpredictable there. It is
also worth mentioning, that the only time when the castle is
perfectly lit for the photo is that short 30-minutes window in the
morning. Afterwards the sun travels leaving only the sidewall of the
castle in light.
We arrived. But apparently the weather
didn't want to cooperate. Day one - it was raining all day; photo
shoot was canceled. Day two - the same thing.
On the third day the weather tricked
us again. The thick fog covered everything from the very morning.
Regardless, we were full of optimism, so we climbed the mountain above
the castle, and then descended into the valley, hoping to find a
clearing. No luck. Finally after three hours of waiting we decided to
shoot the castle at any cost.
However, there are no good shooting
spots when the visibility is 30-40 meters. Except for one - right from
the center of the castle! Although it's rather risky to fly and shoot
in the castle...
Anyhow, we took our chance. Thank God
that all the tourists were asleep at such an early hour. The take-off
was very difficult due to heavy fog, which was in reality 100%
humidity. It condensed large drops of water on the equipment, so we
had to be quick. There was no time to go back and correct mistakes.
Our RC helicopter took off and quickly
disappeared into the fog. All we had was the screen of our laptop
with blinking control lights and short beeps of the height sensor in
Stas's headphones. The time passed very slowly.
In a few minutes, here it was - our
helicopter returned from the white foam of the fog, all wet, as if it
was in a shower. Everything was covered with large drops of water: the
helicopter, the camera, and the lens. Nevertheless, the equipment did
its job just fine, and we immediately returned to our hotel room to
dry it.
So this is the story of shooting this spherical panorama.
We spent the following day waiting,
and only on the forth day did nature smile at us. The weather was
wonderful and we shot, and shot, and shot...
-- Thank you, gentlemen, for such amazing photos, not to mention your rich commentary! rsb
