发表评论-儿歌荟萃-万维博客-万维读者网（电脑版）

Disneyland has become the face of castles and architectural wonders. Many forget the great European designers and builders who created a lot of Europe's famous staples, like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. If there are people who can design these architectures, surely there are those who can build a castle? Oddly, Germany holds the more famous castles in Europe, despite tough competition from Scandinavian countries and the U.K. Today our adventure would feature Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Palace, two architectural feats for, as usual for Europeans, a single King.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria was a man of money. He also was lonely, socially awkward, disliked, bullied, and believed to be a mentally disabled man who liked music and design. And when a man has power and money, he essentially could do whatever he desired, including hiring two thousand workers to build by hand a castle and a palace he designed himself, named Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. As it turned out, both were major successes. Success, yes, but not for the king. He ended up dying before the full completion of the castle, which is awfully depressing. Now, the remains allow me to see what the 19th-century rich people enjoyed.

Like any other medieval mansion, there're probably contain at least a few kilograms of gold. In fact, both homes for the king had over 5 kilograms of 24-karat gold apiece. Furthermore, King Ludwig II collected random expensive decorations for his viewing, like an Indian ivory chandelier, Parisian Gobelins furniture, Meissen porcelain, and ostrich plume carpets from South Africa. However, these purchases would lead one to expect him to be quite the showoff, which was not the case. As a matter of fact, King Ludwig II was extremely self-contained, so much so that rarely anyone got to see his interior dwellings, and never married, which held items that could most likely buy an entire country today. Ironically, the castle received a total of 42 million visitors since it was opened to the public.

Neuschwanstein Castle is probably one of if not the most popular sights in Germany. Perhaps if the Nazis hadn't tarnished its reputation, it would be the face of Germany. It has inspired many of the stereotypical castles like Sleeping Beauty Castle of Disneyland, and to be honest, it is fit for a king. To begin with, it stands on top of a 1500-meter hill at the far edges of the Bavarian Alps. The castle itself probably stood a good 40 meters. Built with brick, the castle was a white rectangle with towers at the corners and a main building in the center. A typical design, yet still stunning to see. Its positioning right over a drop also dramatizes the entire castle a lot, showing a side of adventure when exploring it. Within the castle, much was different from his private home. Compared to Linderhof Palace, it is much more of a fun, living area and less of a pile of money. There were music halls for guests, rooms for group dining, and bedrooms for servants. And most surprising of all, King Ludwig II spent less than half a year in this castle. He died young and so could not live out the full experience.

Nowadays, these two buildings serve as an attraction for tourists, which I don't think it was the purpose they were built for. Six days after King Ludwig's death, his uncle opened up the gates to the public, and it has ever since integrated itself into German culture.

【红霞译文】

迪斯尼乐园早已变为城堡与建筑奇观的化身，大众们哪里记得曾出色打造诸如巴黎圣母院和艾菲尔铁塔欧洲著名地标的设计师和建筑家，既然有人创作建筑，势必有人鼓捣城堡？说来真怪，尽管斯堪的纳维亚国家与大不列颠各领风骚，但德国的城堡在欧洲名气更大。今天我们亲临新天鹅堡和菩提树农场宫殿察看虚实，要知道这两座建筑全都出自一位国王之手。

巴伐利亚名将二世天生富有，性情孤僻，非但厌恶社交不招人喜欢，而且遭受人身攻击，甚至被视为智障，好在他酷爱音乐又擅长设计。有权有钱的人都很任性，动辄雇用两千名劳力手工修建自己给自己设计的城堡和宫殿，并冠以“新天鹅”“林德霍夫”美称，用于孤芳自赏。没错儿，最终如愿以偿，但国王来日不多，未等城堡彻底竣工已命归黄泉，真是“天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福”。如今，这两件遗作无不向我展示十九世纪帝王将相穷奢极欲的生活。

正像其它任何中世纪豪宅，耗费几公斤黄金恐怕算不了什么。新天鹅堡和菩提树农场宫殿狂飙24克拉纯金装饰，各自少说五公斤，再加上名将二世为了养眼，到处收集价值连城的名贵产品，譬如：印度象牙吊灯、法国戈贝兰家具、德国迈森瓷器、南非鸵绒地毯。鉴于此况，人们误以为名将二世酷爱炫耀，其实不然。他特别低调，极少有人见过其内部摆设，一生从未结过婚，室内不少东西都是无价之宝，足以买下一个国家。自对外开放以来，这里已接待了4,200万游客，令人不可思议。

新天鹅堡算作德国最受欢迎的景点之一，要不是纳粹臭名远扬，它本应成为德国的象征。新天鹅堡的问世激发了后人对城堡的狂热，迪斯尼乐园的睡美人城堡就是以新天鹅堡为原型，坦率地说，新天鹅堡实为国王而建。首要一点，它巍峨挺拔于1,500米/4,921英尺山巅，周围被巴伐利亚阿尔卑斯山脉环抱。城堡本身高达40米/131英尺，用砖砌成，呈长方形，外围高塔耸立，主楼位于中央，极为规范的设计，让人看后叹为观止。选择在山势下降的地方建筑城堡无疑加大了戏剧性变化，为探险开辟出一条蹊径。城堡内部结构有别于国王私家宅院。与菩提树农场宫殿相比，新天鹅堡多了一些生活情趣，少了一点铜臭味，其内不仅建有为客人准备的音乐厅，还有为聚餐专用的房间，同时另有为仆人附设的卧室。关键在于名将二世在新天鹅堡住了不到半年，英年早逝的他根本来不及好好享受。

如今，两座皇家行宫均开发成旅游景点，我觉得有悖国王本人初衷。名将二世去世刚过六天，他的叔父便决定向公众开放，自此融入德国文化。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2017: Bavarian Pastoral, Germany(德国巴伐利亚田园牧区)

2017: Oberammergau the Biblical Fresco, DEU(德国上琥珀田镇—圣经壁画)

2016: Kotlin Island in St. Petersburg, RUS(俄罗斯圣彼得堡科特林岛)

2016: St. Petersburg—Leningrad, Russia(俄罗斯圣彼得堡—列宁格勒)

2016: St. Petersburg—Venice of the North(俄罗斯圣彼得堡—北方的威尼斯)

2016: Pushkin in St. Petersburg, Russia(俄罗斯圣彼得堡皇村)

2016: Two Palaces in St. Petersburg, Russia(俄罗斯圣彼得堡两宫殿)

2015: Messina Strait, Italy(意大利墨西拿海峡)

2015: Messina in Sicily, Italy(意大利西西里岛墨西拿)

2015: Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy(意大利西西里岛埃特纳火山)