Herrenchiemsee

My last day in Germany, we visited the Herrenchiemsee, where King Ludwig II built one of his many palaces. Only 20 of the 60 rooms were ever finished, but they are more spectacular than any other residence I have ever seen.

To get to the island, you have to take a 15 minute ferry ride and then it is a short walk to the palace.

On the ferry

Alps in the distance

Lukas, Ulli, Omi, and Oliver

Lukas and Opa

Construction was begun in 1878. The palace was modeled after Versailles in France and exceeds it in some respects. For example, the Hall of Mirrors, at 100 meters long, is larger than the one in France. There are also seven fountains in front of the palace.

Palace and fountains

Latona Fountain

The goddess Latona and her children, Artemis and Apollo, were denied water by the villagers.
They were then turned into frogs by the wrathful mother (see frog people in picture)

Naked statue

Chilluns. Probably representing Vanity

My favorite fountain

A few random details I remembered from the tour:

·         It took 30 seamstresses 7 years to embroider King Ludwig’s bed curtain

·         The bedroom is the most expensive room constructed during the 19^th century

·         His bathroom has a 30,000 liter bathtub

·         The king had the only toilet in the entire palace in a hidden room next to his bed

·         The porcelain chandelier in the dining room is the only one in existence

·         There was an elevator for the dining table, so it could be hoisted up with food already on it

Entryway

Statue in entryway

All the ceilings were painted like this or even nicer

King Ludwig II bedroom with the crazy tapestry

Carriage horses

Monastery and horse

More monastery

After the tour, we took a coach back to the dock to catch the ferry, ate, and returned home.