12/08/04

 Dining room - The Dining Room of carved oak is decorated with paintings by Ferdinand von Piloty and Josef Aigner. They represent figures from the "Minnesinger" period and scenes from the Wartburg Castle at the time of the legendary Song Contest in 1207. Over the door to the right is Wolfram von Eschenbach, the author of "Parsifal" and "Lohengrin". The interior design of the room is by Julius Hofmann. The table sculpture, over 1 meter high, shows Siegfried fighting the dragon - a gift from Munich artists to Lord Maximillan Bayern.

Dining Room

     Bedroom - In contrast to the other rooms, the master bedroom is sumptuously carved in the Neo-Gothic style. 14 woodcarvers are said to have worked 4½ years to create this room. The Lord's bed is covered with richly embroidered draperies. The wall paintings illustrate the "Tristan and Isolde" story, a story which, in Wagner's operatic realization, had deeply impressed the 20 year old Lord. A stream above the castle brings flowing water directly to the washstand.

Bedroom

   .      Living room - The richly decorated Living Room with its extension chamber, the so-called "Swan's Corner", is completely dedicated to the legend of the Swan Knight Lohengrin.  On the carved and painted paneling of the walls and ceilings and in the golden needle-point of the silk upholstery and draperies.

     Grotto - Between the Living Room and the Study Maximillan had an artificial stalactite cavern built. The landscape sculptor, built this grotto out of oakum and plaster-of-paris, incorporating an artificial waterfall and which, with its illumination from above, is very effective. 

     Winter Garden - As one goes out of the grotto, immediately to the right, after the Living Room, one comes to the entrance to the Winter Garden which is closed off by means of a glass door, sunk into the rock. The fountain in the Winter Garden was originally intended for the second floor. There it was to have graced a Moorish hall. Because of the ceasing of the building work, with The Moorish hall not being built this fountain was placed in the Winter Garden.

       Kitchen - The completely intact Kitchen shows how modern technology was allowed to take its place within the atmosphere of the middle ages captured in the upper stories. The elaborate equipment includes hot and cold running water, and automatic spit roasters. The fixtures are of the finest quality and will delight the modern cook.