Best of Germany & Austria Gallery

Larger Pictures of Castles, Communities and Regional Highlights Here are additional images of tour highlights and regional scenes in higher resolution than regular website pictures. Most gallery pictures are displayed as approximately 800 x 600 pixels. Click on the pictures to view. Use your browser's BACK button to return to the Gallery. The Rhine The Moselle, Neckar and Main Rivers Munich Neuschwanstein Herrenchiemsee Innsbruck and Salzburg Vienna
The Rhine
Rudesheim (Rüdesheim in German), at the southern end of the Rhine Gorge	Drosselgasse shopping and restaurant street in Rudesheim	Vineyards on the hills at Rudesheim, started in the 6th century	We go cruising on the Rhine, through this UNESCO World Heritage zone.
Typical small village along the Rhine, with typically steep terraced vineyards	Ruine Ehrenfels, above the vineyards, the Rhine, and modern commerce	The Ehrenfels ruins, near Rudesheim, date from 1210	Burg Rheinstein, near Trechtingshausen, 13th century
Pfalzgrafenstein (the Pfalz), a mid-river toll castle near Kaub, erected in 1328	The Lorelei Rock was said by careless sailors to be home of a deadly maiden.	St. Goar, on the west bank of the Rhine, midway between Rudesheim and Kobblenz	Burg Katz, opposite St. Goar at St. Goarshausen, dates from 1360
The Moselle, Neckar and Main Rivers
Burg Eltz, a medieval castle nestled in the hills above a tributary to the Moselle	Burg Eltz is still owned by the same family that lived there in the 12th century.	The interior of the castle was segmented to accommodate three branches of the family.	Cochem, on the Moselle, dominated by the hilltop Cochem Castle
Heidelberg, on the Neckar, a Rhine tributary, settled by Celts about 800 BC	The southern end of the 1786 bridge was linked to the city wall and a defensive gate.	Heidelberg Castle, 260 feet up the hill, dates from the 15th century.	A series of wars brought repeated destructions of Heidelberger Schloss.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is an amazingly well- preserved medieval town.	A busy street in Rothenburg, with a gate in the fortification wall at the end of the street	Cars must stay outside the original Rothenburg, but horse carriages are allowed.	Rothenberg's town square, with its Town Hall dating from 1250

Munich
Munich, capital of Bavaria and Germany's 3rd-largest city (metro 6 million)	Munich's Olympic Park, site of the 1972 Summer Olympics	Olympic Park is still an integral part of the life of Munich (München)	Konigsplatz (Königsplatz), created at the command of Crown Prince Ludwig
Munich's Ludwigstrasse, Residence, Odeonsplatz, and Theatine Church (L-R)	Munich's opera house, the National Theatre	Marienplatz is Munich's central square, dominated by the Rathaus (city hall).	Munich's Hofbrauhaus is Germany's most famous beer hall.

Neuschwanstein - Ludwig's First Castle
Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's first and most famous castle, built between 1869 and 1886	Neuschwanstein sits atop Swan Rock in the foothills of the Alps near Fussen.	The helicopter provides a rare view of the castle – the view from the north.	This top view reveals the audacity of the architecture of Neuschwanstein.
Neuschwanstein is most often seen in post card photos taken from the air.	Neuschwanstein Castle was designed by Christian Jank, a theatrical set designer.	Neuschwanstein's upper courtyard, facing the Palas, or citadel	Singers' Hall occupies the entire fourth floor of Neuschwanstein Castle.

Herrenchiemsee - Ludwig's Third Castle
Herrenchiemsee is hidden on an island in Chiemsee, Bavaria's largest lake.	Herrenchiemsee, inspired by Versailles, was the most expensive Ludwig project.	The central Royal Palace at Herrenchiemsee was built between 1878 and 1885.	Herrenchiemsee was designed by Georg Dollman, the architect of Linderhof.
The formal gardens feature many fountains and statues, both in the classical style ...	... and in the fantastic style of romanticism favored by King Ludwig.	Herrenchiemsee's Great Gallery of Mirrors attempted to improve on Versailles.	This stairway is copied from Versailles, which Ludwig admired enormously.

Innsbruck and Salzburg
Innsbruck's older pedestrian district, with the Alps in the background	The Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl) was built in 1500 with 2657 fire-gilded copper tiles.	Empress Maria Theresa had the Hofburg transformed into a Baroque palace 1754-73.	Interior of the St. Jakob Cathedral, converted from Gothic to Baroque 1717-24.
Traditional Tyrolean enter- tainment at an Innsbruck dinner show	Salzburg has one of the best- preserved city centres north of the Alps (UNESCO).	Mirabell Palace, built by a Prince Bishop in 1606 for his mistress	Mozart was born in a home on Getreidegasse and raised in Salzburg

Fortress Hohensalzburg,
on Festungsberg hill, can
now be reached by funicular.

The fortress, begun in 1077,
is one of the largest medieval
castles in Europe.

Its hilltop location gave the
fortress a view (and control)
of a wide region.

Hellbrunn Palace is famous
for its extensive trick fountains
and "watergames".

Vienna
Vienna's Hofburg Imperial Palace was the home of the Hapsburg dynasty	The Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, built between 1874 and 1883	Vienna State Opera house, home of the world-famous State opera company	St. Stephen's Cathedral in central Vienna, on the site of an 1147 parish church
Interior of St. Stephen's Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Vienna	Schonbrunn Palace evolved over centuries from a hunting lodge begin in 1696	Queen Maria Theresa made Schönbrunn the imperial summer residence	The Neptune Fountain, one element of Maria Theresa's gardens and park plan
The 18th century gardens are used by Vienna for current day concerts and celebrations	The Gloriette crowns a 60m / 200 ft hill overlooking the Palace and Vienna	The Gloriette was built on Maria Theresa's instructions in 1775	The Palm House pavilions with temperate and tropical sections, added in 1881-82

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