"Bavarian
Majesty"
by Paul McGehee. Germany's famous Neuschwanstein castle towers high
above the snow-covered village below...it's a winter evening and the
air is cold and crisp. All is in silence. This dramatic view of the
world's most-recognized castle is from the vantage point of the
Marienbrücke bridge which spans the Pöllat Gorge. Neuschwanstein Castle
was a favorite project of King Ludwig II, who had wished to build the
most magnificent castle ever constructed. It is located on a bluff
within sight of Hohenschwangau Castle where he had spent his childhood
days when his father was the King of Bavaria. Young Ludwig had known of
this bluff and had drawn many sketches of fanciful castles perched atop
it while hiking in the woods as a youth. The year following his
father's death in 1868, construction began of his dream castle...it was
to take almost 30 years. King Ludwig would not live to see its finish
as he died under mysterious circumstances in 1886 at the age of 40,
drowning in a boating accident (or more likely, assassination) on the
nearby Starnberger See. During his lifetime he was said to have only
spent a total of 11 nights in his beloved Neuschwanstein while
overseeing construction. Upon his death, Neuschwanstein Castle was
opened to the public, and to this day has remained one of Germany's top
tourist attractions. It is the crowning achievement of Bavarian
architecture, and has been the inspiration for many other castles seen
everywhere from movies to childrens' story books to theme parks. "Bavarian Majesty" is faithfully
reproduced as an archival-quality print from McGehee's original color
pencil drawing issued in a limited edition of only 500
pieces, each hand-signed by the artist.
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