Germany's 19th Century Fairytale Castles
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- Опубліковано 22 кві 2024
- The 1800s saw a revived interest in castles. Having largely been abandoned in favour of Baroque and Neoclassical palaces in the preceding centuries, the growth of Romanticism inspired many princes and wealthy individuals to return to renovate or completely rebuild them. Here we’ll take a look at five examples of that from Germany.
→ MUSIC
Tannhauser, WWV 70 - Overture - Richard Wagner
By “United States Marine Band” (musopen.org/)
Das Liebesmahl der Apostel, WWV 69 - Richard Wagner
By “United States Marine Band” (musopen.org/)
6 Piano Pieces, Op. 118 - II. Intermezzo - Johannes Brahms
By “Carlos Gardels” (musopen.org/)
Trio in A Minor, Op. 114 - II. Adagio - Johannes Brahms
By “Paul Pitman, Michael Arnold, Bang-Eun Lee” (musopen.org/)
Trio in A Minor, Op. 114 - I. Allegro - Johannes Brahms
By “Paul Pitman, Michael Arnold, Bang-Eun Lee” (musopen.org/)
Fun Fact: In German, a burg refers to a authentic medieval castle, while a schloss is a mansion/palace built to look like a castle.
That's a relatively new development and arose only after many defensive castles were turned into more habitable housing (e.g. by breaking windows into the outer walls). Before that "Burgen und Schlösser" was a Hendiadyoín ("Schloß" meaning 'closed off'* originally and a "burgus"** was in essence a small fort). So, many palatial Schlösser started as original defensive castles. Romanticism just added fake ones to the originals Or even replaced them.
*which in turn is related to 'cloister', a place where monks close themselves off from society.
**a loanword Latin took from a local Germanic dialect in the Rhine area.
Wouldn't "furt" (fortress) be a more direct translation of castle
@@cv4809 In modern understanding a fort is a self-contained part of larger complex of fortifications (which often is the 'fortress' itself) while a castle is a singular entity unconnected to others. American forts of the wild west stretch the definition a bit but they too can be considered to be a part of a system of interconnected defensive structures. Castles also tended to be residential while forts are purely military structures with regular units stationed there and not necessary the seat of a governing entity.
We have the same destinction in Sweden a slott is a palace or fairytale caste while a borg is a fortress. It should be noted in Sweden palaces like Sanssouci and the like are slott.
Fun fact, the cognates of those words in English are borough and slot. The latter probably from Dutch sluten, to close, to lock, in English to bolt or slam, as a noun, an implement for barring, bolting, locking or securing. More commonly now an aperture or allocated time.
These castles are so beautiful, this type of grandiose architecture in general is very beautiful 🥰
Yes, such a shame it's currently out of style.
@@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658
It never went out of style. It’s been merely priced-out, and the skilled labor required for those ornaments (sculptors, fresco artists, bricklayers, etc.) are being supplanted by modular, prefabricated cubes, if not automated away altogether.
@sergpie - Not to mention the prohibitive costs of maintaining these castles and palaces, hence why the vast majority were abandoned or converted into museums. Nowadays, it would be rather financially impractical to build on the scale of these large castles.
Jai shree ram ❤️
They are truly nice, just not worth it in most cases.
Hohenzollern Castle is a sight to behold :) even if you dont want to visit it directly, hiking in the area provides you with a great view. I think foggy days make the castle look even more magical. Either way, seing those towers always makes me smile because then i truely know that i'm home :)
On le voit dans " Barry Lyndon " de Stanley Kubrick, film qui me le fit découvrir à la sortie du film en septembre 1976...
Having grown up in Albstadt, near Hohenzollern, I can confirm 😄
Neuschwanstein Castle even not completely finished it's still to me the most beautiful castle in the world.
Try castle Hohenzollern instead. Castle Würzburg. Even the tiny castle in Bebenhausen is just as nice. So many castles are better. Cause they have more than just 5 rooms. But i respect your choice 🦢🏰
Foreigners usually love it, Germans are usually neutral about it at best. Many find it indeed gaudy.
@@insatsuki_no_koshou Neuschwanstein is the least gaudy of the 19th century castles.
Am I the only one who doesn't like it?
@@untruelie2640 no ^^
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had a similar revival of castle building in modern times… ah one can dream.
It’d be considered racist or some form of supremacy, and promptly taken down; like many a bronze or marble statue from the 1800s that were toppled in 2020. If it’s beautiful and of European origin; it’s deemed oppressive.
i'd love to see that too, with modern power tools and precision engineering that should be a fairly easy task (or at the very least the bed canopy wont take like 4 years to complete). i guess rich people just want to stay in fashion and those who can actually afford to do it wont be showing it off to us.
@@sergpie No, if it's in honor of a very immoral person it's deemed oppressive. Yasukuni Shrine, Mao's portrait, and all the weird shit in NK are just as bad.
i wish
@@sergpie that is sadly true. Someone should really stop these self hate ideologies becoming popular. Society that hates itself won't last.
Architectural romanticism was great. I mean, pretty much all architectural schools of the 19th century were great. And they simply had to take all the most influencial styles of the past and magnify them. From the Hungarian parliament, to the US Congress and Supreme Court buildings, and through the spire of Notre Dame and the german fairytale castles, how many wonders were built.
It really is one of the best eras of architecture
Even the breaking-away from the 19th century norms of architecture and ornament- when the Viennese secession began and brought forth Art Nouveau- it was beautiful. They went from glorious and romanticized reinterpretations of historical architecture to abandoning symmetry and rigidity altogether in favor of the sinuous and florid look of the Jugendstil.
@@sergpie Indeed. Even as norms faded away, beauty was still the focus. Things went south when efficiency and utility became the primary focus.
I believe there is a movement growing that will advocate for more traditional architecture instead of modernism, especially when you consider it's touristic and patriotic values. A new style that continues the old with the functionalism of today's building.
@@e.battraw3934 I am sure of it. The only remaining question is luckily when and not if. He scale however is uncertain, as it would take a few years to catch on once more if it even becomes truly widespread. Luckily, raw functionalism has been slowly dying out and been replaced with more variety in the universities, which gives the hope that a new renaissance of classical architecture mixed with the modern necessities might be closer than we imagine.
can't go wrong with a good castle, we should build more.
castles > skyscrapers...maybe a mix of the two would be cool, massive neo-gothic/medieval skyscraper castles
I support
don't mix beauty with ugliness
You should be cateful with that mix. May end up looking postmodern or mcmansion-y
There are many Gothic revival skyscrapers in the USA, the Tribune Tower in Chicago been a good example.
European castles should stay in europe and keep their historical worth.
I visited the Hohenzollern Castle a few months ago and it was absolutely incredible. I love learning about the history of it. It was my first time in Germany and the first castle I have ever been to. Needless to say I cannot wait to visit more castles!
Another interesting fact about Schwerin Castle is that it hosts the state parliament of Mecklenburg Vorpommern (one of Germanies 16 federal states) . The plenary hall is situated in the former Golden Hall which burnt down in 1913. It also hosts the offices and commitee rooms for the delegates and their staff.
Just on Saturday I went for a walk on the hills near Beuren. My view gazed over the hills and valleys and rested on the Hohenzollern castle glowing golden in the evening sun.
I was an "Army brat" and grew up in Germany in the 70s and early 80s, and was also stationed there as an adult (in the Army) in the late 80s and 90s. This video brought back a lot of fond memories of traveling around visiting these (and many other) historic sites. We visited most of them three or four times when I was a boy, and then I returned at least once again as an adult. Thank you, UA-cam, for the random recommendation HA!! And thank you, "Kings and Things," for a very nice video, and a return to old memories.
Hohenzollern Castle is so beautiful it’s unreal
The Schwerin Castle is one of my favorites
not only does it look beautiful from the outside, but it's also looks gorgeous from the inside (not like Neuschwanstein Castle interior, which is mostly pretty „meh“ and absolutely ridiculous overcrowded with tourists)
Unfortunately, I have never been to Germany but I believe you! (LOL) Strangely enough this video did not include two castles of Ludwig Ii which, in my opinion, are far more beautiful than Neuschwanstein: Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Have you visited them? Greetings from Argentina!
Great video and pronunciation! One castle to add would be the "Neuschwanstein of the North", Schloss Marienburg near Hannover in what is now Lower-Saxony. One of my favorite castles and definitely worth a visit, especially since many new rooms have been opened for the public relatively recently.
In the Netherlands castle De Haar is also a 'new' castle build on top of the ruins of an old one. It's not build on a mountain or big hill ofc, but it has some nice gardens etc around it.
PERFECT music Choice for the intro, Tannhäuser Overture by Wagner!
Hohkönigsburg (or Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg) is another massive and beautiful german castle (now in france), restored by wilhem II in 1901 to a more faithful but just as romantic style
Agree, I have visited the castle and it's worth it. Combined with some regional Alsatian wine afterwards, you can't go wrong.
For an interesting contrast, in Meersburg on Lake Constance you basically have the "old castle", which was built on an on from 7th to 18th century, and still has some original parts and rooms from those different time periods (and still has people living in it), direct beside the "new castle" that was build in the 19th century.
just a little detail but i really love how you pronounce german names.
I can honestly listen to you talk for hours and hours. Seriously your voice is s o soothing. You can narrate paint dry and I would still gladly watch
We visited castles like this in my childhood. It's part of the reason why I study architecture and why I love history + fairytales.
This was so well done that I hope you do more on the topic. Your voice is well suited for narration. The music is appropriate as well. I appreciated the shift from Wagner in Neuschwanstein to Brahms in Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg, a nice touch.
This channel is so freaking underrated!! Videos are top notch!
People in Heidelberg (first pic) actually seem to be more proud of their castle as such a well kept and recognizable ruin.
nahh, I guess most proud of their castle are the Hohenzollern one. It's the main symbol of the whole region there called "Swabian Alb"
Your choice of imagery and music is wonderful!
Beautifully put together.
Schloss Hohenzollern is my favorite one
great video, I love these castles, they are so beautifful, just like everything covered on this channel
Gorgeous architecture. I wish I could go tour them all and do vlogs of them.
I'm actually went to the last castle and I can confirm that is indeed very beautiful I personally fell in love with the view from the library it really feels magical
This video was visually soo pleasant! Thank you for the video
It is great that you put the castle of Hohenzollern on the first place. It is such a fantastic castle and similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein, but only 300.000 visitors per year are visiting it. In my eyes it needs more marketing ;-)
Nah, Hohenzollern doesnt need more vistors, it's the right amount.
More people = More damage
You couldn't have chosen a better soundtrack than Wagners Tannhäuser Vorspiel to match the glory of German castles
Love the Pilgrim's Chorus in the background. Such a great piece of music.
Amazing work, Love your videos.
You can do german castles that are now in neighboring countries.
Like Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg which was rebuilt by the Kaiser but is now in France
this is my favorite channel and community, wish I could get a drink and talk architecture with all of you.
What beauty!!! Such a great video!
thank you for this great video!
Wow, amazing video, UA-cam actually recommended me something right up my alley for a change!!!
Been to some of those:)
but seriously, it would have been great if ol'Ludwig had been left to his devices. The other stuff he still had planned was really amazing and would have bolstered bavarian renown and tourist income to this day.
And he was not the reckless waster of money he got painted as to justify deposing him. For the most part he managed to get solid work for reasonable expenditure. Frederik The Great tried to get things on the cheap and his New Palais in Potsdam is a maintenance nightmare for it to this very day (Well, it's original purpose was as a pure show piece to demonstrate that Prussia was by no means broke at the end of the 7 Years War. Frederik himself called it a 'fanfaronade'.).
Actually, that could be another video ... 🤔
@@Segalmed also he was really defamed by his enemies who wanted to get rid of him. Even declaring him insane and unfit to rule when he most likely wasn't.
@@kingsandthings I personally would really like to see that:)
@@sizanogreen9900 Personally, I think he was not the right man for the job of ruling monarch and had some mental health problems on top of that. Had he been willing to leave the actual job of governing to a capable first minister (as Wilhelm I. did with Bismarck) all of that would not have been a (major) problem. But the very idea was alien to him.
I love your channel SO much! it is always a pleasure to see a new video from you. Your voice and intonation is so perfect and I enjoy everything you have to say. I'm sorry I don't know your name, but I wish you the best, bro!
I love castles and everything about them.remarkable beautiful
Beautiful, stunning!
This has been a joy to watch!
For anyone wondering, much of the interior of Schwerin Castle is also recreation. A fire broke out in December 1913 which nearly claimed the lives of the Grand Duke, Frederick Francis IV and his wife the Grand Duchess, Alexandra of Cumberland, with the couple having through flying sparks from exposed electrical wiring to escape. The damage cost nearly $750,000 to repair, and restoration work wasn’t completely finished until 2019.
Fun Fact: Schloss Lichtenstein in the state of Baden-Württemberg is actually older than Schloss Neuschwanstein. And the castle was build because the Duke of Urach red the romantic novel the Lichtenstein by Wilhelm Hauff. In the romantic era this was reason enough for him to build the castle on a rock near the old historic burg Lichtenstein.
The Duke of Urach also declined in the early 20th century the throne of Monaco so I think Prince Louis got head of state in monaco. That's why they both houses do have a very good relationship to this day and prince Albert also visited Lichtenstein castle with his wife. They also slept in the guest house of the castle.
and the cave " Nebelhöhle " belongs also to the novel 🙂
Absolutely blessed to have lived very close to Heidelberg and Hohenzollern-Castle
Learned much. Thank you!
For me, Schloss Linderhof is the most underrated palace in Germany. Bavarians all know about it, but most non-Germans have never heard of it. The small scale and the beautiful gardens make it really inspiring, because something like it could still be built today.
Well, thx to give me new ideas of destination to visit this summer ^^
FunFact that a lot of you probably know already but Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland in California is directly based off of Neuschwanstein Castle. It's cool looking at them side by side
both are ugly
Love your Channel! ❤
Beautiful Heidelberg, living here - just beautiful
Comment for algorithm to get this piece some attention. Great work!
Nice topic
I've been into Hohenschwangau. The romantic-era murals there incredible.
I've been to Hohenzollern. It is beautiful and my favorite one..
Wagner fits so well over this video, fantastic video
Gloss: n. dungeon from french _donjon_ keep. Before 1325 dunjon in middle english meaning great tower of a castle. With dungeon we see the actual deprecation of the actual word from a keep to an enclosed underground space (first use before 1338). The nobility moved from out of fashion older keeps to newer airy, with more light, easier to heat mansions sometimes built right next to their dunjons of yore. These fell into ruin over time and some were used to imprision their victims underground (which may have been the only secure place to put them). Hence the semantics of what we now call a dungeon...
Thank you!
The castle-style palaces of Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains and of Marienburg south of Hannover could also have been included.
Beautiful castles of beautiful era
Glad that i live close to Hohenzollern castle. Great are to hike as well. And we have another ronatic castle from Duke of Württemberg close by. Schloss Liechtenstein. Smaller but very, very romantic located spectactular at a steep drop to the valley.
I've been to three of those castles. Hohenzollern is my favorite.
There is also a nice rebuilt castle not far away from Koblenz with Stolzenfels castle in a side valley of the Rhine: Schaumburg castle, where you can still see the difference between the old medieval parts and the neo-gothic buildings from the 19th century. It is also a beautiful composition. You can also go to Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, there is a nice park and the Löwenburg, which was intentionally built as a castle ruin (no joke) in the 19th century. If you like neo-romanesque architecture, go to Annweiler and visit Trifels, close to the french border. There are also pretty unique rock castles in this Area, many medieval ones and also a few built on medieval remains. If you like castles in general, just visit Germany. You will find them almost anywhere, from medieval, renaissance, baroque or romantic ages.
So beautiful! I would like to see more videos like this! I really enjoy them!
I always love your videos and this one is no exception. It was wonderful!
Castle Hohenzollern is the most impressive one to me. None of these are defensive structures, ofc. They are more like over-sized palaces. Would love to see a video on actual surviving european defensive castles :)
think one that would be "Kaiserburg " in Nürnberg, check it out on wikipedia ... 😊
Great! I click on the video and the first thing I see is a view of my hometown.
One could easily do a part 2. Lichtenstein and Cochem come to mind.
Edit: I just checked the german wikipedia article "Burgenrenaissance". It has a few more examples.
Edit2: Also Schloss Marienburg.
You name Cochem, but forget about Eltz and Drachenburg? ;)
My fathers family came here to the states from Mecklenburg. Wish I could go there and see.
Wish we had a revival of classical architecture we had a new form of romanticism take over
Can't have it both ways. Romanticism is the emotional opposite to the cold ratio of the classical style.
@@eljanrimsa5843 nigga do you hear yourself? Are you trying to imply there was no sense of passion and strong emotion in the eras before romanticism? Do you not realize most of the beautiful buildings stretchzd over europe where before this era of romanticism? It doesnt even go for europe alone, the entire mediteranean can be added to that too. The only era ever that was Cold is what weve been living in since the 60s. When everything became prefab concrete slabs with glass and steel.
With this global cultural building style of the corporate being rampant across the world. Im mad im shitting
Fantastic
awesome Channel
1:57 please does anyone know the name of the background painting?? If so please tell me 🙏🙏🙏🙏🤗🤗🤗
Wooow the way he said Baden Würthemberg is so authentic
Could you do a video on Wrens masterplan for London after the Great Fire in 1666?
4:11 what on earth is this? this is gorgeous!
I have an original photograph of Neuschwanstein, where one can see scaffolding during its construction, and some stereographs of some of King Ludwig II's other castles. I've had a 'Ludwig' thing going on for years. Any leader who spends money on beauty as opposed to war, is fine by me. :)
Well he did kinda bankrupt bavaria. Funnily enough Otto von Bismark used this to "buy" Bavaria into the Second German Empire.
@@MrGod-nl7no Yes, he did. That's why he was deposed - not because of his mind (God knows, 'mad' rulers were nothing new in Europe) - but, because of 'money'. And, I imagine tourism has more than paid for Ludwig's excesses by now. :)
I hope you saw the British series "Wagner". It is about Ludwig, really. Since Richard Burton (Wagner) died, they never completed it, but some episodes are on UA-cam
@@dunnhaupt Yes, I've got in on VHS. :) It was very good - particularly, the 9 hour version.
The cost of construction on such a site must be eye-watering.
The fascination and romanticism for european mediavel aesthetics and architecture still exists today in the from of the fantasy genre, from games to movies to tv shows and even Japanese anime and Korean manhwa, so many of these are set in a fantasy european mediavel world, ( like game of thrones, lord of the rings, elden ring, and so much more)
Love your content, how can I sponsor you? not on Patreon, but as something more significant - any way (email?) I can reach out you?
I'm just watching this video to find out which castle I wanna visit next
For all the majestic beauty that it exudes, visiting Neuschwanstein is a profoundly sad experience when you consider the history of its creation and creator. Ludwig II was a deeply conflicted monarch who idolised two types of men - the powerful feudal monarchs of old who held the reins of huge realms in their hands and the heroes of fairy tales, ancient tragedies, and operas. He was neither of those, and it killed him. Ludwig II lived in a time where 'real power' was or had been stripped from most German monarchs, already. Due to military losses, he even lost a modicum of power and wealth during his own regency. While he technically governed Bavaria, most of what that meant was that the actual governing bodies like the parliament gave him documents to sign. Even though he built this grandiose throne room, he lived in times where kings didn't even hold court in that fashion any more. Instead, he spent his work day in a relatively dim study in the castle sitting behind the type of desk you'd expect from a high-ranking clerk, not a monarch by divine grace. In the second type of men, heroes of old, he fantasised especially about their virtuous nature, their ability to resist temptation, and their success at winning the hearts of ladies. Ludwig himself (and this was confirmed to us by the tour guide in the castle as well as plenty of written material which you receive on site in leaflets) was by all accounts gay - and deeply troubled by this.
So, Ludwig was a guy who longed to be everything he was not, by his own standards. Powerful, straight, popular, respected, strong. His castle is filled with clashes of styles - each room an aesthetic of its own. All of it paying homage to times or ideas that (no longer) held true - especially not to Ludwig. In the late days of his life, he would mostly turn nocturnal, sleeping away his days and mournfully walking the corridors of his empty castle. He was eventually dragged out of his castle under criminal charges for misappropriating taxes with his wasteful endeavours. He died under mysterious circumstances on a boat trip with one of his minders. The specifics of the case remain unsolved.
Ludwig, by modern standards, seems like a very rich, sad Otaku/Hikikomori type of character.
Poor Ludwig 😔 Surely if he lived today he would be happier and accept himself... but the same can be said of most people who lived in the past, right?
@@Rob17kLiebermann That's the question which comes to mind, isn't it? I feel like nowadays there's more awareness of mental health, more acceptance of gay people - but at the same time, many people still turn their back to society - or are ostracised by it.
Would Ludwig have fared better in our times? Perhaps, perhaps not. I think this comes to the individual, how they can accept themselves, and how their environment treats them.
I would hope, though, that one day we'll be at a point where the answer to that question would a resounding yes :)
We need more information about the history of the Construction, the Archietechts , the technology used and the builders..There are still alot of unanswered Questions
i lived in wismar, near schwerin. the castle is very nice. the island it stands on is artificial. its a grounding made on oak pillars standing in the lake. and a lot of the decorations is made out of paper mache, because marbel was way too expensive
Not sure if it was said but Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are located pretty close to each other.
i love castles some of them are out of this world
Ive seen Neuschwanstein. Its very impressive. Even from a distance. To bad the massive tourism spoils the location.
This video makes me feel like half of German castles have been at one point destroyed by the French
Wherever the perfidious frog goes, it feels an instinctive urge to demolish any good structure, and if not driven away, it then puts ugly brutalist blocks there instead. Britain and Russia are only the tip of the iceberg, and their cities are littered with fr*nch monuments to bad taste that replaced historic and fine architecture.
Well not necessarily by the french but yeah, most were destroyed at one point
The Napoleonic Wars were pretty intense.
Much much more German architecture was destroyed by the Allies during WW2.
While the Protestant branch of the Hohenzollerns became the Kings of Prussia (and German Emperors), Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich of the Catholic branch became King Carol I of Romania.
Such majestic and magnificent castles will hopefully preserved for all time, so that future generations can marvel at their grandeur. Great video.
Do more videos on chola dynasty and Rajendra Chola and his southeast Asia campaign ..
These castles will be admired by centuries to come.
The brutalist concrete monsters of our times will hopefully be bulldozed.
yes
Indeed! They really did not age well. Well they really thought they can make something better than centuries of tradition
@@velvet3784 No, they wanted to make durable, functional buildings without wasting public funds. I actually quite like Brutalist architecture, but aesthetics aren't the point. You wanna pay a 70% tax rate so public buildings can look like Georgian palaces?
@@batrachian149 But the thing is: most of these new buildings aren't durable at all. Bad planning and construction failures often lead to them being hugely expensive.
I once visited some sort of district with Bauhaus-like builings (they were all terribly ugly and sucked all life out of me 😂) and the guide told us that many of their design choices are so unpractical (e.g. in one you could only enter the toilet through the kitchen) and sometimes dangerous (don't remember the exact details, but the roof was leaking and way too heavy).
So they're ugly (to most people), unpractical and expensive. Not a great deal...
Also: with beautiful buildings, you eventually get the tax money back through tourism.
@@Madeleine_des_Esseintes Highly variable. Brutalist architecture is extremely durable.
And sometimes the lack of durability is intended. We could make long lasting roads, but they'd be far more expensive than could be justified. I recall the quote "Anyone can make a bridge that stands, but only an engineer can make a bridge that barely stands."
cool vid bro
Fun fact: Most historical Burgen in Germany were very simple constructions, a ring wall of stone with some wooden buildings inside, maybe a stone house for the local noble, but nothing fancy. Most of these were build and abbandoned in just a few decades, after which newer Burgen some hilltops over simply reused their stones. So no one knows how many Burgen there were and how many are lost to time. At most we have historical garbage dumps, written records, local legends.
Another great video! I've always been curious about this since you are especially dedicated to topic of aristocracy: are you of an aristocratic family with a nobiliary particle in your surname? Anyway, I appreciate your love and passion for your work, it really shows!
That last one really needs a mad science laboratory.
Cool