4 ms·

It is sort of funny, these are essentially manors that were built to aesthetically evoke the vibes of castles (Not functional as fortifications, but also never

It is sort of funny, these are essentially manors that were built to aesthetically evoke the vibes of castles (Not functional as fortifications, but also never intended to be). So, UNESCO is commemorating historical buildings that were themselves built to commemorate a long-gone era! Someday we will have to show these commemorations in a commemoration of the UNESCO headquarters.

masfuerte 1y ago
I got a similar vibe in Legoland, where they have a copy of the copy of the Eiffel tower in Vegas.
- _9ptr 1y ago
  How is that different from a copy of the original Eiffel tower?
  - pitpatagain 1y ago
    It's inside of a reproduction of Las Vegas.
    - benterix 1y ago
      It's just begging to be reproduced someone else, unfortunately it would interfere with Disney's "intellectual property" then.
    - _9ptr 1y ago
      What a time to be alive
moritzwarhier 1y ago
It's also funny that many Germans probably never heard of Neuschwanstein, let alone having visited it. But sure, that's to be expected and the "cultural heritage" designation is not a ranking of the most popular landmarks, for good reasons.
- kleiba 1y ago
  > It's also funny that many Germans probably never heard of Neuschwanstein I bet most will have, though.
- slater 1y ago
  Yeah it's only one of the most famous castles in Germany, they likely haven't heard of it...
  - moritzwarhier 1y ago
    I was born in Germany, and while I have heard of it, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell where it is until my early twenties, or that it's even in Germany. In Western Germany, this never came up anywhere and it also wasn't a major part of history education or things like that. I've still never been there. And when the UNESCO thing came up, I had to refresh my knowledge to differentiate the French "Sun King" Louis from the Bavarian king who ordered the building of this castle. My first introduction to it was that it's a place where foreigners like to go and a popular tourist attraction. No sure why this incited so many downvotes, but nevermind. I think it's a common phenomenon with "trademark" things that countries are known for around the world. This is particularly extreme because it's very specific to Bavaria. There are many castles in Germany, most of them older than this famous one. Lots of castles in my vicinity too, although they're not as famous.
- BoredPositron 1y ago
  Show me one German over the age of 12 that doesn't know about Neuschwanstein.
technothrasher 1y ago
I got dragged to Neuschwanstein by my family, not knowing much about it. Well, it was a crowded and annoying tourist trap, and then I realized, "Wait, this is a fake castle made by a crazy dude?" I found my local fake castle made by a crazy dude more enjoyable (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_Castle).
- 1234letshaveatw 1y ago
  It was crowded when I visited but it is a very scenic spot. I would love to visit it again
- foobarian 1y ago
  If you don't mind going to fake castles made by crazy dudes check out https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/predjama-castle/ https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/predjama-castle/. This one even has a torture chamber!
  - shrx 1y ago
    What do you mean? This is very much a real castle.
    - jcranmer 1y ago
      No, it's not. A castle is a fortified place of residence, with heavy emphasis on the military needs in its architectural designs. Neuschwanstein was built in the 1880s, at which point any fortification that could have fulfilled its military role you would not want to live in, thanks to improvements in artillery. Castles are functionally obsolete around the 15th century, when gunpowder-based artillery became common and you needed substantial more earthworks and enveloping lines of fire rather than the straight curtain wall you see with castles. Neuschwanstein is instead a 19th-century version of the McMansion: it's a house (palace, really), built to (then-) modern standards that is dressed up to look like some sort of fancy architecture, in this case, a Medieval castle based not on historical research but in the (then-) modern pop culture version of it.
a_bonobo 1y ago
The Disneyland Cinderella Castle lists Neuschwanstein among its (obvious) inspirations. So Cinderella Castle is a building commemorating a building commemorating an era.
staplung 1y ago
A further irony for Neuschwanstein in particular is that in order to build an inauthentic Medieval-looking castle, they had to completely destroy the ruins of two actual Medieval castles.
slg 1y ago
And Roman architecture was largely based on Greek architecture. This type of thing has been happening as long as humans have had historic cultures to emulate and commemorate.
dboreham 1y ago
Similar in Scotland. The most photogenic castle (Eilean Donan) is a 19th C. reconstruction of a real but ruined castle.
- SEJeff 1y ago
  Caerlaverock castle is pretty spectacular however when it comes to Scottish castles.

masfuerte 1y ago

I got a similar vibe in Legoland, where they have a copy of the copy of the Eiffel tower in Vegas.

_9ptr 1y ago
How is that different from a copy of the original Eiffel tower?
- pitpatagain 1y ago
  It's inside of a reproduction of Las Vegas.
  - benterix 1y ago
    It's just begging to be reproduced someone else, unfortunately it would interfere with Disney's "intellectual property" then.
  - _9ptr 1y ago
    What a time to be alive

moritzwarhier 1y ago

It's also funny that many Germans probably never heard of Neuschwanstein, let alone having visited it. But sure, that's to be expected and the "cultural heritage" designation is not a ranking of the most popular landmarks, for good reasons.

kleiba 1y ago
> It's also funny that many Germans probably never heard of Neuschwanstein I bet most will have, though.
slater 1y ago
Yeah it's only one of the most famous castles in Germany, they likely haven't heard of it...
- moritzwarhier 1y ago
  I was born in Germany, and while I have heard of it, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell where it is until my early twenties, or that it's even in Germany. In Western Germany, this never came up anywhere and it also wasn't a major part of history education or things like that. I've still never been there. And when the UNESCO thing came up, I had to refresh my knowledge to differentiate the French "Sun King" Louis from the Bavarian king who ordered the building of this castle. My first introduction to it was that it's a place where foreigners like to go and a popular tourist attraction. No sure why this incited so many downvotes, but nevermind. I think it's a common phenomenon with "trademark" things that countries are known for around the world. This is particularly extreme because it's very specific to Bavaria. There are many castles in Germany, most of them older than this famous one. Lots of castles in my vicinity too, although they're not as famous.
BoredPositron 1y ago
Show me one German over the age of 12 that doesn't know about Neuschwanstein.

technothrasher 1y ago

I got dragged to Neuschwanstein by my family, not knowing much about it. Well, it was a crowded and annoying tourist trap, and then I realized, "Wait, this is a fake castle made by a crazy dude?" I found my local fake castle made by a crazy dude more enjoyable (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_Castle).

1234letshaveatw 1y ago
It was crowded when I visited but it is a very scenic spot. I would love to visit it again
foobarian 1y ago
If you don't mind going to fake castles made by crazy dudes check out https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/predjama-castle/ https://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/predjama-castle/. This one even has a torture chamber!
- shrx 1y ago
  What do you mean? This is very much a real castle.
  - jcranmer 1y ago
    No, it's not. A castle is a fortified place of residence, with heavy emphasis on the military needs in its architectural designs. Neuschwanstein was built in the 1880s, at which point any fortification that could have fulfilled its military role you would not want to live in, thanks to improvements in artillery. Castles are functionally obsolete around the 15th century, when gunpowder-based artillery became common and you needed substantial more earthworks and enveloping lines of fire rather than the straight curtain wall you see with castles. Neuschwanstein is instead a 19th-century version of the McMansion: it's a house (palace, really), built to (then-) modern standards that is dressed up to look like some sort of fancy architecture, in this case, a Medieval castle based not on historical research but in the (then-) modern pop culture version of it.

a_bonobo 1y ago

The Disneyland Cinderella Castle lists Neuschwanstein among its (obvious) inspirations. So Cinderella Castle is a building commemorating a building commemorating an era.

staplung 1y ago

A further irony for Neuschwanstein in particular is that in order to build an inauthentic Medieval-looking castle, they had to completely destroy the ruins of two actual Medieval castles.

slg 1y ago

And Roman architecture was largely based on Greek architecture. This type of thing has been happening as long as humans have had historic cultures to emulate and commemorate.

dboreham 1y ago

Similar in Scotland. The most photogenic castle (Eilean Donan) is a 19th C. reconstruction of a real but ruined castle.

SEJeff 1y ago
Caerlaverock castle is pretty spectacular however when it comes to Scottish castles.