Walt Disney visited Fussen, Germany, in the 1950s. Not only did he visit the town, but he also visited Neuschwanstein, the fabulous castle just outside of Fussen. He liked the castle so much that the Disney castle logo was created from the castle he observed there.

But even more, those who have visited Disney World will find a striking resemblance to the town of Fussen in the fantasyland part of the park. It’s as if Disney patterned his park after this town.

“Füssen is a Bavarian town in Germany, just north of the Austrian border. Its Gothic castle, Hohes Schloss, houses a regional art museum. The museum of St. Mang’s abbey showcases Füssen’s violin- and lute-making industry. The eclectic Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle lie southeast of the town,” according to Google.

The castle is located in the Bavarian area of Germany and is not far from Austria, which can be seen from the castle. Our guide said Disney was in search of inspiration in his visit. And Neuschwanstein was a fantasyland type of castle. Ludwig II, king of Bavaria, created the entire decoration inside of the castle based on operas written by composer Wagner. Scene after scene painted throughout the castle is of those operas.

Our guide said that even though the castle is only about 150 years old, Ludwig wanted it to seem much older and wanted it as tribute to the Middle Ages. Before his early death he only completed 14 of the more than 200 rooms in the castle.

Our entry time was 9:30 a.m. for the castle but we had to be present in the courtyard at least an hour ahead of our entry. The castle instructions were that if you were not entering at the exact time of our ticket you would not be allowed in later and there would be no refund.

There was a bus near the train station to take folks to the castle entrance but on our train trip to Fussen, we met a student who goes to high school in Fussen and she told us there typically were more people waiting for the bus than it could take. We decided not to chance not getting a seat on the bus and walked to the train station and hailed a taxi. He carried us to the entrance of the castle property but it was a 30 minute steep hike up a mountain to actually get to the castle.

When we arrived, the temperature was 48 degrees. Our forecast told us it would be in the 60s. However, our hike to the castle warmed us up. But standing in the castle courtyard was chilly because the wind was blowing.

Not every room in the castle was open to the public but that was because Ludwig did not get to finish his castle. He was a lavish spender and was draining the country’s treasury. Because of the type of government Bavaria, Ludwig had to answer to the country’s ministers. When he continued to spend, they had him declared incompetent and removed his authority. Although he continued to be the king, he had no authority.

Ludwig was a patron of the composer Richard Wagner. He used inspiration from Wagner’s operas as decor in the frescoes in the castle especially the swan and Ludwig is also known as the Swan King from the opera Lohengrin.

Ludwig also had the latest technology and every comfort. The rooms were fitted with hot air central heating and running water was available on every floor. The kitchen had both hot and cold water and the toilets had an automatic flushing system. He even had an electric bell system which when it was used the servants could tell which room they needed to go to.

Poor old Ludwig only got to live in the castle less than a year before his ministers ousted him. He had grand plans because it had a sanctuary and a stage where he had hoped to have some of Wagner’s plays staged. Alas, that never happened.

Upon his removal, construction on the castle was halted and never was completed. Ludwig’s uncle took over and later sold the castle to the government. It has been opened as a museum since.

After the nearly two hour tour of Neuschwanstein, we had to hike back down the very steep hill, where buses and taxis put people out. We were hungry and found a very nice restaurant in the little village area for lunch. We had a wonderful view of Neuschwanstein. I had goulash with beef and potatoes, very good. Karen ordered spinach dumpling with tomato sauce and veggies and a salad.

I think the best part of the meal, though, was the Black Forest cake, which we shared. Delicious.

After lunch, we hiked to another nearby castle, built by Ludwig’s father. Called Hohenschwangau. It was opened in 1837 by Maximillian II of Bavaria. Maximillian was Ludwig’s father and it was originally a hunting residence for the royal family. The castle had been destroyed and was rebuilt by Maximillian. However, the hunting lodge dated back to the 12th century

After touring the second castle, we headed by bus this time back to Fussen. We found a laundromat and washed clothes until supper time. We found a restaurant that served hamburgers and each of us got one. However, the hamburgers were huge. Neither of us could eat all of it. We could have shared one and been plenty full.

By the end of the day we had walked 6.8 miles and 43 flights of steps, which were not all steps but the steep hills up to the castles. Yep, we were tired and went to bed early.

The top photo shows “Schloss Neuschwanstein” taken from the Marienbrucke Bridge which was built over a cliff in 1845 which has a wonderful view of the castle. The bottom photo is on the side of “Schloss Hohenschwangau” with Schloss being word for castle.