In the midst of the rugged mountain landscape, in the solitude of the Grasvangtal valley, Linderhof Castle was built at the behest of King Ludwig II. The original plans were born by the king after a visit to Versailles in 1867. Already in 1869, he had acquired the properties around Linderhof, where his father, Maximilian II, owned a hunting lodge. Under the direction of the royal architect Georg Dolmann, the "Royal Villa" (1870 - 1878) was built not as a representative building, but rather as a personal retreat, as a place of seclusion for the king who had withdrawn from the world.
In the western Tapestry Room, otherwise called the Music Room, the multicolour of wall paintings and seating furniture is striking. Paintings resembling tapestries depict scenes of social and pastoral life in the rococo style. Next to an ornate musical instrument - an unusual combination of piano and harmonium - stands a life-size peacock made of painted Sevres porcelain. The proud and timid bird was, like the swan, the king's favourite animal.
Two marble fireplaces with equestrian statuettes of kings Louis XV and Louis XVI are inscribed in the precious panelling of the walls of the reception room. Between the fireplaces is the king's desk with a gilded writing instrument.
The royal bedroom is the central and most spacious room of the chateau, illuminated in the past by a 108-candle crystal candelabra. Marble sculptures, mouldings and ceiling paintings betray a penchant for images of ancient mythology.
The dining room, in bright red, is oval in shape. In the middle of the room stands a retractable "table, set!" decorated with a vase of Meissen porcelain.
A favourite motif in eighteenth-century German palace-building, the mirrored study is evident in the unbridled splendour of the Jean de la Paix-designed Hall of Mirrors. Large mirrors, embedded in the white and gold panelling of the walls, create the illusion of an endless series of rooms. They break the flames of a crystal chandelier, reflect the matt gloss of a carved ivory chandelier, replicate precious jewellery and elongate the room to infinity.
The lime vaulted galleries immediately behind the chateau lead up the steep northern slope from a strictly ornamental carpet garden in the shape of a bourbon line. The water cascades down thirty marble steps into a pool with a fountain decorated with a sculptural group of Neptune.
There is still an impressive 300-year-old linden tree as a remembrance of the courtyard of the farmer Linde, who used to stand on this site and gave the palace its name (Linde - linden).
King Ludwig II, who had a taste for all things oriental, purchased the Moorish Pavilion, formerly belonging to the Zbiro Castle in Bohemia, in 1876. A year later it was installed, already restored and partially enlarged, on a small hill in the park of Linderhof Castle.
In the twilight light of the coloured glass windows and coloured lights, the splendour of the exotic interior is revealed. A peacock throne made for the king in 1877 by Le Blanc-Grander in Paris was placed in the rounded apse.
In 1876-1877, "landscape sculptor" August Dirigl created for the king an artificial stalactite cave - the grotto of Venus. And Franz Zeitz built a golden boat from seashells. Underwater lighting, artificially induced waves, and lighting effects provide a fairy-tale illusion.
Linderhof was the only castle where work was completed during the king's lifetime. It remained the king's favourite place to stay until his tragic death on 13 June 1886.
