Christmas Markets Tour In Depth
Christmas Markets Tour In Depth |
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Research – Links to More Detailed Information |
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There's no need to do homework ahead of time to enjoy this
tour, but if you are interested in more background than is provided in the
day-by-day itinerary these links will guide you to more detailed information.
To make navigation easier, the pages linked to below do NOT open in new
windows.
Use your browser's BACK button to return here (to avoid shutting down your
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Except as noted, the links are to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Christmas in Germany |
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German National Tourist Office's Christmas Markets website |
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[Spiegel Online article] "A Visit to Germany's Christmas Markets", includes a review of the Christmas market in Munich's Marienplatz. |
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[Quest Magazine Online] Germany is home to many beautiful Christmas traditions which are derived from the country's history, folklore, and legends. In fact, many of the American Christmas traditions originated there. |
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[Red Pill website] Historical background |
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Wikipedia article on Christmas markets around the world |
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The Christmas market in Kempten's historical old quarter is the biggest in the Alpine Allgaeu region. To put you in the Christmas mood there are more than 70 stalls offering Christmas crafts and gift ideas galore along with sweet delicacies and more hearty fare. Daily musical interludes provide a wonderful festive ambience. |
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Castles and Palaces |
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Immense Baroque palace on 200 acre estate in Munich where Ludwig was born |
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Castle near Fussen where Ludwig spent most of his childhood |
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Schloss Neuschwanstein – Ludwig's first and most famous castle, a dramatic Romanesque fortress build on a commanding hilltop high above the village of Hohenschwangau |
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Schloss Linderhof – Ludwig's second major creation, an ornate palace in neo-French Rococo style with elaborate formal gardens, nestled in a secluded forest valley about 15 km from Fussen (as the crow flies) |
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Ludwig's third extravagance, a replica of the central section of the palace at Versailles, meant to outdo its predecessor in scale and opulence, built on an island in the middle of Lake Chiemsee |
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Communities and Destinations |
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Home base for this tour is at Hopfen am See, just outside Fussen (Füssen or Fuessen in German). Fussen is the town where Ludwig was raised, and where he constructed two of his three new castles and palaces. |
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Hohenschwangau is the small village located between the Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein castles. |
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Oberammergau is a picturesque village famous for the elaborate passion play staged every ten years and also for its beautifully painted houses and woodcarving. |
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Bad Tolz (Bad Tölz or Bad Toelz in German) is know for its historic medieval town center, an architecturally significant church from 1466, its spas, its spectacular views of the Alps, and its lunch-time specials. |
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Kempten, population 61,000 in 2006, is the largest city in the Allgaeu region of south-west Bavaria. |
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Munich (München in German) is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, Germany's third largest city (1.3 million), the home of world famous beer gardens and the annual Oktoberfest, and the origin and termination city for this tour. |
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Innsbruck, population 120,000, is the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol and an internationally renowned winter sports center. |
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The Wieskirche, also known as The Church in the Meadow, is a Rococo church built between 1745 and 1754 in a remote location near the foothills of the Alps. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983. |
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The King |
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Biographical note on Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886 |
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English translations from a German website dedicated to the life and legend of Ludwig II (keonig-ludwig.org site) |
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