Neuschwanstein is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

UNESCO has clearly rejected the German application on one point. The commission apparently found the title too pompous; the committee prefers a more sober approach. Therefore, the phrase "Built Dreams" must be deleted. The new World Heritage site, the 55th in Germany and the eleventh in Bavaria , now bears the unadorned name: "The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen, and Herrenchiemsee."

The term "built dreams" is only kitschy at first glance. The German applicants are not wrong to describe the castles as "alternative worlds" that, like few other monuments, capture the imagination of people from all cultures around the world. The castles, most notably Neuschwanstein in the Allgäu region , are "universal icons of the fairytale world," they say, replicated worldwide and serving as the inspiration for Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle.

The numerous tourists who visit the buildings each year may have been particularly surprised that the castles had not yet been granted World Heritage status. However, the title, officially awarded by UNESCO on Saturday, also represents an obligation for the Free State of Bavaria to maintain the castles in good condition, as Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) emphasized after receiving the "global accolade" from UNESCO.

From Aschaffenburg to Berchtesgaden: The SZ's Bavaria team is on the move for you throughout the Free State. Click here if you want to get stories, news, and background information directly to your mobile.

Especially in Schwangau, at the foot of Neuschwanstein Castle, where they watched the award ceremony live over white sausage and free beer, not everyone initially agreed on whether such a World Heritage designation would be beneficial or simply bring problems. "Will it bring more tourists?" was one of these key questions. In a referendum, the residents of Schwangau ultimately voted in favor of an application that, without Neuschwanstein as the star attraction, would not have been submitted for the other castles. "Now," says Mayor Stefan Rinke, "everyone in town is proud that the castle is a World Heritage site. We see many opportunities in this."

Such a UNESCO designation should benefit everyone, the Prime Minister also emphasizes. And indeed, UNESCO has imposed certain requirements on the new World Heritage castles that must be met – and that will not only please locals who suffer from crowds and traffic congestion. UNESCO, for example, is calling for a visitor management strategy to mitigate the effects of mass tourism.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 1.4 million visitors annually. The Free State of Bavaria, as owner of Neuschwanstein and the other buildings, had already capped the number of visitors in recent years, and in 2024, the number was still 1.1 million. UNESCO has often emphasized that its goal with World Heritage status is not to attract more tourists. On the contrary: Such a designation is intended to preserve cultural and natural sites.

Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most famous buildings in Germany – far beyond Bavaria. But how long did it take to build the castle in the Allgäu region, and when did the first visitors arrive? Test your knowledge about the castle, which is now slated to become a World Heritage Site.

UNESCO is also proposing a steering group for the World Heritage sites, as well as an overall concept that includes the regional economy, residents, and the natural environment. Local authorities such as the municipality of Schwangau should be better integrated. UNESCO itself also keeps an eye on the more than 1,200 World Heritage sites worldwide after they have been designated. The Wieskirche, for example, is located less than 20 kilometers from Neuschwanstein in the Pfaffenwinkel region of Upper Bavaria and, as a jewel of the Rococo style, has been a World Heritage site since 1983. In order to allow the construction of three wind turbines ten kilometers further north near Peiting, UNESCO consultants demanded a comprehensive monument concept for the Wies and its wider surroundings . The Dresden Elbe Valley experienced in 2009 what it means to not follow UNESCO's recommendations: the construction of a new bridge led to the loss of the World Heritage title.

Things shouldn't get that bad with Bavaria's royal palaces. "We want to preserve our cultural heritage and preserve it for future generations," says Söder. Linderhof and Neuschwanstein have recently undergone expensive renovations. UNESCO explicitly recognizes that the palaces are in excellent condition. Since 1994, the Free State of Bavaria has invested 43 million euros in the Allgäu fairytale palace, 22 million euros of which in the past eight years alone went to the restoration of the state rooms. Employees from 50 companies spent a total of 250,000 hours restoring 2,300 different objects, wooden components, windows, and doors.

Neuschwanstein, says Söder, is "Bavaria's great landmark," with art and culture, but also a touch of kitsch and cliché. King Ludwig II created a romantic place of longing inspired by the operas of Richard Wagner—with the latest technological amenities such as running water and automatic rotisserie ovens in the kitchen.

The Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof palaces, for example, each boast a "table-set-yourself" (German for "little table-set"): a table that could be loaded with food and tableware one floor below and then hoisted up into the king's dining room, so His Majesty wouldn't be bothered by waiting servants. Both buildings were intended to be replicas of the palaces of the absolutist French Sun King Louis XIV – Herrenchiemsee was inspired by Versailles, and Linderhof was inspired by the no longer existing pleasure palace of Marly.

Unlike Herrenchiemsee and Neuschwanstein, the comparatively small Linderhof was at least somewhat completed during Ludwig's lifetime, including the famous Venus Grotto, which has been open to visitors again since this spring after years of extensive renovation . The operatic grotto already featured electric lighting and a wave generator, powered by Bavaria's first power plant.

The Royal House on Schachen, at an altitude of 1,866 meters in the Wetterstein Mountains, appears almost modest at first glance. From the exterior and on the ground floor, it is designed like one of those "Swiss houses" that were fashionable as Alpine vacation homes in the 19th century. On the first floor, however, the so-called Turkish Hall unfolds the ancient oriental splendor of another fantasy world of the solitary monarch, who often and happily retreated to the mountains and celebrated his name day and birthday at Schachen every year on August 15th.

World Heritage designation or not, the royal palace is far too remote to attract significant tourist crowds. Fewer than 7,000 visitors were counted up there last year. Even Linderhof, located far back in the Graswang Valley, with around 350,000 guests, and Herrenchiemsee, with its island location and around 310,000 visitors, are clearly overshadowed by Neuschwanstein in this regard.

Ludwig II himself preferred to remain alone in all his palaces, or at best in imaginary company. He would have preferred not to leave his collected buildings to anyone at all. Instead, he toyed with the idea of having everything blown up and demolished after his death. But in the end, no one listened to him, least of all his own government. And now, at the very latest, the legacy of Bavaria's most famous king belongs to the entire world.