The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Saturday announced the newest additions to its list of designated World Heritage Sites during an annual meeting in Paris.
Several sites in Germany were added to the list, namely, the castles and residences of King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886).
Built in the 1800s in different historicizing styles and defamed as a fanciful if not mad waste of money at the time, the sites have been tourist magnets for nearly 140 years.
The UNESCO designation will no doubt increase the number of people visiting the sites. Some 1.7 million individuals, many of them foreign tourists, visited the castles in 2024.
Politicians in the southern German state of Bavaria have fought for the designation for a quarter century.
Known around the world — in large part due to the Disney corporation’s use of Neuschwanstein as a model for various castles, as well as the image of the palace perched on an outcropping and surrounded by Alpine forests — Neuschwanstein Castle, Herrenchiemsee Palace, Linderhof Castle and the King’s House on Schachen were all added to the list Saturday.
“The inclusion of the palaces on the World Heritage List is an outstanding tribute to these impressive places,” said German Unesco Commission President Maria Böhmer.
“They are all architectural masterpieces and bear witness to the artistic imagination, but also the eccentricity of the fairytale king.”
Prior to Saturday’s additions, there were 54 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany. Globally, there are some 1,223 World Heritage Sites in 168 different countries.
