The King's House on Schachen is a small castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 (Schlösschen) at Schachen Witterstein, about 10 km south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...

, Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, built by Ludwig II of Bavaria

Ludwig II of Bavaria

Ludwig II was King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes called the Swan King and der Märchenkönig, the Fairy tale King...

. The castle was constructed between 1869 and 1872. It can only be reached by a three to four hour hike, either from Elmau or Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...

, and provides a view of Zugspitze

Zugspitze

The Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains as well as the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the border between Germany and Austria runs over its western summit. South of the mountain is...

.

King's House

The King's House on Schachen was built between 1869-1872 to designs by architect Georg Dollmann. It is often described as a hunting lodge, though Ludwig never used it for this purpose, instead utilizing it for birthday and anniversary celebrations. The building is the least-known of the palaces built by Ludwig. One room (known as the "Turkish Room") occupies the entire upper-floor of the castle, and is elaborately decorated in an Oriental fashion. The extravagant upstairs interior stands in stark contrast to the exterior and ground floor, which are rather modest.

Alpengarten auf dem Schachen

Adjacent to the house itself is the Alpengarten auf dem Schachen (1 hectare), an alpine botanical garden

Alpinum

An alpinum is a botanical garden specialized in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in the Caucasus, Pyrenees, Rocky Mountains, Alps and Himalayas....

 maintained by the Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg

Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg

The Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg is a botanical garden and arboretum located at Menzinger Straße 65, Munich, Bavaria, Germany...

which cultivates over 1,000 plant species from the Alps to the Himalayas.

External links

• Official website
• King Ludwig II and his castles
• Alpengarten auf dem Schachen
• Konigshaus am Schachen Story and photos of the King's House