Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced [nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪn]) is a 19th-centuryGothic Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria,Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner.

The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.^[1] Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.^[2]More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.^[3] The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle^[4] and later, similar structures.