The King's House on Schachen () is a small

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

(''Schlösschen'') at Schachen, Wetterstein Formation, about 10 km south of

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany, built by

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...

. The house was constructed between 1869 and 1872.

Location

The King's House on Schachen is located at Schachen, at an altitude with a view of the dramatic mountain backdrop of the Wetterstein Formation, about 10 km south of

. It can only be reached via a 10 km forest road, or a three-hour hike, ascending 1000m either from Schloss Elmau or

, which provides a view of

Zugspitze The Zugspitze ( , ; ), at above Normalhöhennull, sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border ...

amongst others.

History

The King's House on Schachen was built between 1869 and 1872 for

and designed by architect

Georg von Dollmann Georg von Dollmann (1830–1895) was a German architect and Bavarian government building officer. Georg von Dollmann was born on 21 October 1830 in Ansbach as ''Georg Carl Heinrich Dollmann''. The son of a government officer, he attended the Gym ...

. It is often described as a hunting lodge, though Ludwig never used it for this purpose, as he didn't like to hunt, 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 or Moorish Room" occupies the entire upper-floor of the castle, and is elaborately decorated in an

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

fashion. The extravagant upstairs interior stands in stark contrast to the exterior and ground floor, which are rather modestly built in the style of alpine

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-su ...

s, as they were often built as excursion restaurants.

Alpengarten auf dem Schachen

Adjacent to the house itself is the ''Alpengarten auf dem Schachen'' on about one hectare, an alpine botanical garden at about 2000m altitude, which contains over 1,000 plant species from the Alps to the Himalayas. It is maintained by the

Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg The Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg is a botanical garden and arboretum in Munich, Germany. History Munich's first botanical garden, now called the " Old Botanical Garden", was established in 1809 based on designs by Friedric ...

, open during the summer months daily from 8 am to 5 pm, admission cost 2.50 euros as of 2018. Although the Wetterstein Mountains are primarily limestone, the limestone and dolomite weather differently: dolomite decomposes into a shard and splinter debris on which some plants thrive particularly well. Lime weathers chemically, calcifications arise, in which water quickly seeps away. On the other hand, the sandstone provides for loamy and low-limestone soils that hold water well. Altogether 42 plant beds are assigned to different geographical regions, the flora of the Bavarian forest, the Alps, Carpathians, Patagonia, the Rocky Mountains - and the Himalayas. Blick ins Reintal.jpg, The Reintal valley Schachen.JPG, King's House taken from the ''Bockhütte'' in Reintal Garmisch-Patenkirchen-Schachen (Berg)-Königshaus am Schachen-ZI-1298-01-00-217515.jpg, Illustrations of the Moorish Hall at the time it was built Garmisch-Patenkirchen-Schachen (Berg)-Königshaus am Schachen-ZI-1298-01-00-217516.jpg

References

External links

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King Ludwig II and his castles

Story and photos of the King's House {{DEFAULTSORT:Konigshaus am Schachen Houses completed in 1872 Castles in Bavaria Royal residences in Bavaria Landmarks in Germany Botanical gardens in Germany Gardens in Bavaria Garmisch-Partenkirchen Museums in Bavaria Historic house museums in Germany Moorish Revival architecture in Germany Buildings and structures in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) Ludwig II of Bavaria