UNESCO adds Bavarian palaces to World Heritage List

UNESCO has added Neuschwanstein, along with Herrenchiemsee Palace, Linderhof Castle and the King's House on Schachen, to its list of official World Heritage Sites. We'll introduce you to those three other sites in just a moment, but we begin our tour with by far the most popular: the fairytale castle Neuschwanstein.

Neuschwanstein Castle, which is located in the foothills of the Alps in the very south of Germany close to the border with Austria, attracted over one million visitors in 2024, according to the Bavarian Palace Administration. It is also said to have been the inspiration for Disney's world-famous Cinderella Castle. It was built between 1869 and 1892 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Even though King Ludwig II died in 1886, he was still able to live at Neuschwanstein for at least six months despite it still being a building site. The Singers' Hall gives an indication of the castle's modest furnishings. King Ludwig II never wanted to open it to the public but six weeks after his death the doors were opened to visitors.

Linderhof Palace is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II. However, it is the only fully developed palace and also the only one that was inhabited by King Ludwig II for a substantial period of time. Perhaps that is why it attracts so many visitors. With over 350,000 visitors, it ranks second — by a fair margin — to Neuschwanstein.

A special feature of Linderhof Palace is the Venus Grotto. King Ludwig II had the largest artificial grotto of the 19th century built in just two years (1875-1877) for his sole use. In the 90-metre-long and up to 14-metre-high artificial stalactite cave, he was able to recreate faraway places and opera scenes with clever lighting effects.

From 1878 to 1886, King Ludwig II had the New Herrenchiemsee Palace built on the Herreninsel in Lake Chiemsee, which explains the name. Versailles Palace near Paris served as a model. In terms of visitor numbers, it ranks third of the four sites, with just over 300,000 visitors last year. However, it tops the list for construction costs.

The construction of Herrenchiemsee cost more than Neuschwanstein and Linderhof residencies combined. More than 4.5 kg of gold leaf was used in the magnificent bedroom and the other rooms. It was a rather expensive pleasure considering King Ludwig II only lived in Herrenchiemsee Palace, his last major building project, for a few days.

King's House on Schachen is not only smaller than the three residencies, it also attracts fewer visitors: last year, there were just under 7,000 visitors to the site. This could also be due to its location: 1,866 meters up in the Wetterstein mountains. It was built from wood between 1869 and 1872.

There are five living rooms on the first floor of the King's House on Schachen and the Turkish Hall on the upper floor. This was modeled on a hall in the palace of Eyüp. To make it look authentic, the servants were placed in the hall in oriental dress, where they had to smoke hookahs and drink tea. Every year on August 25, King Ludwig II celebrated his birthday there.