Linderhof pictures

Linderhof Pictures - A gallery of photos from our visit to Bavaria's

enchanting Linderhof Palace

Please enjoy this gallery, Destination Munich's second page about King Ludwig II's palace, Schloss Linderhof.

If you haven't seen the first page yet, please check it out here at Schloss Linderhof. There's a review of the palace, tour details, maps and and few more photos. So, without further ado, on with the show!

MOOVE OVER: That's me taking a break on the way to Linderhof. It's in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which will host the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2011.

COFFEE: That's my friend Petra in Garmisch on our stop. Garmisch is the slightly more modern "half" of the town, west of the river. Partenkirchen is east of river. They were seperate villages until Hitler lumped them together for the 1936 Winter Olympics, which took place in the town.

PAINTED HOUSE: Many buildings in Bavaria's deep south bear Luftmalerei or "air-murals" on their external walls. There are some great examples in Garmisch-Partenkirchen near Schloss Linderhof. Germany's highest mountain,the Zugspitze, is also nearby.

POOLSIDE: The pool at the front of Linderhof Palace. A gravity-powered fountain (not going in this photo) shoots water 25m into the air from the golden statue in the middle. To the right of the steps at the back you can see the Linden Tree, which is over 300 years old. Ludwig II used to have a seat among its branches. Some say it's the reason the palace was named Linderhof.

KING OF KINGS: Bavarian King Ludwig II worshipped the French Sun-King, Louis XIV. Louis ruled France from 1643 to his death in 1715. That was 72 years, the longest reign of any European monarch to date.

GRAND: Linderhof was the only palace Ludwig II lived to see finished. It was built on the site of a former forester's house, which he inherited from his father.

THE KING, ALONE: Not one of my shots obviously, but I thought the man himself deserves a guernsey in gallery of Linderhof pictures: introducing the creator of Linderhof, Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II.

NORTHSIDE: This shot was taken from the music pavilion, set on a hill directly north of the palace. The Alps rise away to the south.

WATER WORKS: This mermaid-filled fountain is directly south of Linderhof Palace, near the elevated terrace gardens.

MOVING HOUSE: Ludwig II bought this "Maroccan House", built for the Paris World Exhibition, in 1878. The king had it rebuilt in the Alps, and it fell into private hands after his death in 1886. The Bavarian government bought the house in 1980 and had it shifted to Linderhof park in 1998.

FINE: Rococo detailing on the facade of Schloss Linderhof. Rococo architecture was all about elegant and ornate design. Rococo artists turned rooms and buildings such as Linderhof into feasts for the eyes. The style reached its heyday in 18th century France.

WATERFALLS: The cascade at the back of Linderhof Palace, which flows into the "Neptun Fountain". At the top of the hill you can make out the airy green music pavilion. The bourbon flower in the forground is a tribute to Ludwig II's hero, French Sun-King Louis XIV.

EAST SIDE: Looking towards Linderhof Palace over the Eastern Parterre. The golden statue in the fountain is of Amor the love-god, better known as Cupid, shooting an arrow.

PEACEFUL: The Eastern Parterre - decorative gardens just east of the palace. In the middle is a stone statue of Venus and Adonis.

TOUCH OF THE ORIENT: This is the Moorish Kiosk, originally built for the Paris World Exhibition in 1867. Ludwig bought it from the Prussians in northern Germany nine years later and had it rebuilt at Linderhof.

EXOTIC: A view through glass into the Moorish Kiosk. You can make out Ludwig's peacock throne at the back.

GREAT LAKE: We stopped at the Kochelsee (Lake Kochel) on the way back to Munich.