Schwangau, Romantic Road

Surrounded by lakes and a mountainous backdrop, Schwangau is the second-to-last town on the Romantic Road. Due to its proximity to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle and its neighbouring Hohenschwangau Castle, Schwangau is referred to as the “village of royal castles”.

With its year-round activities and health spa, Schwangau is a holiday resort, but it is also a pilgrimage destination to St Coloman Church. The 17th-century Baroque church was dedicated to Saint Coloman, an Irish pilgrim who in 1012 stopped in Schwangau on his way to the Holy Land. When suspected of espionage during a time of conflict among Austria, Moravia and Bohemia, Coloman was tortured and hanged. The local people venerated Coloman for his ability to withstand torture, and out of remorse and due to various miracles that occurred around his grave, he was made a saint and patron of livestock.

In honour of St Coloman, each year in October, a festival is held, with a procession of 200 riders on highly decorated horses parading from the town hall to the church for service, and the horses are blessed. The procession then goes around the church to the market square to celebrate, eat, drink and enjoy the views of the castles.

The current Hohenschwangau Castle came about by chance. When King Maximilian II of Bavaria stumbled across an old fortress called Schwanstein whilst out on a hike, he immediately fell in love with its scenic location. Young and enthusiastic, he defied his father’s wishes and moved to a different castle, buying the dilapidated property. In 1833, he set about converting the medieval building into a residential palace. It was the family's summer residence, including his son, Ludwig II, who would later, further up the hill, build Neuschwanstein Castle.

The palace was used for 80 years by the king, queen, Ludwig and Ludwig’s uncle, Luitpold, as the last resident.  When Luitpold died in 1912, the castle was opened as a museum a year later. The castle survived both World Wars due to its strategically unimportant location. The state government recognised the rightful ownership of the castle, and it was returned to the family, who continue to use it as a summer residence, while also opening it to the public and welcoming 300,000 visitors per year.

The castle’s ochre coloured façade and four-tower palace dominate the landscape. The top of the arched entrance is decorated with two life-size sculptures of knights holding a shield and a lance, flanking either side of a Gothic-style window topped with a coat of arms. There are over 90 murals inside depicting the history of Bavaria. Each room has its own specific theme, telling its own story.  Neo-Gothic frescoes abound. The largest room, which takes the full width of the castle, is the banquet hall named “Hall of Heroes”. The walls are decorated with paintings that tell the story of an old Norse chivalric saga centred on a hero called Dietrich von Bern.