Schloss Neuschwanstein named UNESCO World Heritage site

Schloss Neuschwanstein, one of Germany’s most famous attractions, has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status. Three other German historical sites were also added to the list.

Schloss Neuschwanstein granted UNESCO status

UNESCO has declared Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria a World Heritage site. The castle has long been a world-famous tourist spot, attracting 1,7 million international visitors in 2024 alone.

Located on an impressive hill overlooking the village of Hohenschwangau, the 19th-century Romanesque castle was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria, and construction began in 1869.

The king only spent 11 nights at the (largely) unfinished castle, as he died before construction was completed in 1892. After his death, the castle was opened to the public. The picturesque spot has also gained fame as the supposed inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Three other German sites given World Heritage status

While Neuschwanstein’s new status stole the show, three other German sites were also named World Heritage spots at the UNESCO Committee meeting in Paris. For these buildings, the German tourist board is once again indebted to Ludwig II, and whoever was unlucky enough to have to build castles at his whim.

Ludwig II was branded the “Mad King” because, among other things, he loved commissioning castles and palaces and dying before construction was completed. If this all sounds extremely camp, that’s because it was. It is documented that Ludwig had romantic relationships with men and would probably be considered gay and bad at budgeting, rather than “mad”, in today’s context.

Ludwig's Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee was another addition to the 2025 UNESCO list. The palace lies on an island in Herrenchiemsee, Bavaria, which the king purchased in 1873. While the island was already home to a Benedictine abbey, Ludwig commissioned the “new palace”, styled on Versailles, but died before it was completed.

Schloss Linderhof, the only palace that Ludwig commissioned which was actually completed, was also added to the list. Linderhof lies a stone’s throw from Neuschwanstein and is also modelled on Versailles. The final addition to the 2025 list was one of Ludwig’s more modest projects, the Königshaus am Schachen timber lodge built between 1869 and 1892.

“The inclusion of the castles on the World Heritage List is an outstanding tribute to these impressive buildings,” Maria Böhmer, President of the German UNESCO Commission, told the dpa. “They are all architectural masterpieces, reflecting both the artistic imagination and the eccentricity of the fairytale king.”