＜春遊德國＞新天鵝堡（下）Neuschwanstein (second part)

在指定的時間，我們來到了城堡入口，看著票上的號碼與入口的指標，準時進了城堡內部。
We arrived the castle entrence at the appointed time. Following the indications at the entrance and the number assigned to each ticket, we entered the castle on time.

這座建於十九世紀的山丘城堡，是路德威二世費時17年所建築的夢幻城堡。華麗城堡的背後，其實隱藏著一段悲傷的故事。路威德二世是音樂家華格納的狂熱支持者，城堡內部裝潢，處處都以華格納歌劇的故事為主題。據說路威德二世之所以興起蓋城堡的念頭，實際上是為了要讓華格納歌劇《Lohengrin天鵝騎士》能夠在中世紀城堡內演出，由此可見路威德二世對華格納音樂的狂熱。在城堡內部仔細觀察，匠心獨具的設計讓人嘆為觀止，其中，起居室以天鵝騎士為主題的裝飾，據說其內有超過上百隻的天鵝，舉凡門把、壁畫等，都有其獨到之處。
This beautiful castle among the hills was built in the 19th century by Ludwig II. It took 17 years to complete the construcction work. However, there's a sad story behind this beautiful castle. Ludwig II held very strong patronage to Richard Wagner, and all the interior decoration of the castle was based on stories of Wagner's operas. It is said that the reason Ludwig II built this castle was to allow the "realization" of Wagner's Lohengrin in a medieval castle... and we can see how much Ludwig II was fascinated by Wagner's music. Having a close look of the decoration, the design is really breath-taking. The saloon decorated by more than hundreds of swans is the most characteristic of all. From door handle, wall painting to porcelain, every detail is just impressive.

可惜的是，路威德二世並無緣享受這座美麗的城堡，他在位之際，耗資鉅款興建城堡，可說到了走火入魔的程度，以致債台高築，韃伐之聲四起，大臣以國王精神異常為由，在未經過醫師診斷的狀況下，逼他退位，路威德二世遂避居到新天鵝堡，半年之後的某日，被發現陳屍於城堡下湖畔，死因？只怕替世人留下了一個永遠的謎團。路威德二世歿世的前一天，城堡內的音樂廳Singer’s Hall甫完工，這座裝飾精美、音響效果絕佳的音樂廳，一直到1933年華格納逝世五十週年，才舉行了第一場音樂會。當然，在路威德二世歿世以後，所有建築工程頓時停止，尚未完工的六十幾個房間，至今尚未完工，讓人徒留想像…
It's a pity that Ludwig II wasn't able to enjoy this beautiful castle. When he's still the king, he spent a fortune building this castle, to a point that he's heavily in debt. Some people claimed that he's mentally ill and forced him to resign without the diagnosis of any doctor. He went to the castle to retreat. After six month, his body was found by the lake under the castle. How did he die? It's a mystery that can never be solved. The Singer's Hall of the castle was completed the day before he died. This finely decorated musical hall with terrific acoustics was left unused until the fiftith anniversary of Wagner's death in 1933 when the first concerto was held here. Of course, all construction works were stopped after Ludwig II's death. There're still more than sisty rooms unfinished and we can only imagine how luxurious they could be.

音樂廳是參觀的最後一站，在下樓以前，我在樓梯口看到許多語音導覽設備，才對購票時售票員的問題恍然大悟，原來除了英文和德文以外的其他語言，乃是用語音導覽的方式來進行，讓我不禁後悔了一下，也許，如果當初選擇語音導覽，也不至於跟著一大群人像感鴨子上架一樣地匆忙參觀，下次若有機會再訪福森，我一定會把新舊天鵝堡都好好走一番。
The Singe's Hall was the last room of the route of visit. Before I stepped down the stairs I saw lots of audio guides. Then I came to understand the question that was asked when I purchased the ticket. Beside English and German guides by docents, there're also audio guides available for visitors. I regret a bit for not choosing it. Maybe the visiting experience would be nicer with the audio guide, because I wouldn't have to catch up the group just in order to listen to the explanation. If there's another chance to visit Fussen again, I definitely will spend more time here and visit both castles in town.


Neuschwanstein