--- description: Find out why Neuschwanstein Castle is one of TIME for Kids’ coolest places in the world for 2019. title: Neuschwanstein Castle: World’s Coolest Places of 2019 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4240400b4a396cd7/698a051116d8844157c3735a/neuschwanstein-castle-germany-tfk-worlds-coolest-places-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Dec 03, 2019 # Neuschwanstein Castle Hohenschwangau, Germany by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Frank Bienewald—LightRocket/Getty Images [Neuschwanstein Castle](https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/palace/ "undefined") is a fairy-tale destination for history lovers. If it looks like the castles in classic Disney parks and stories, that might be because Walt Disney visited Neuschwanstein before he built his amusement center in California. The German castle was constructed by order of King Ludwig II. But he didn’t get to live in his creation—he died before its 1892 completion. Outside, there are tall towers. Inside, there are beautiful paintings and murals. The throne hall holds a 13-foot chandelier (but never had a throne). _Neuschwanstein_ means “new swan stone,” which explains the swan artwork throughout the castle. _—Constance Gibbs_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-coolest-places-2019/5736038/neuschwanstein-castle-hohenschwangau-germany/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-coolest-places-2019/5736038/neuschwanstein-castle-hohenschwangau-germany/"},"headline":"Neuschwanstein Castle","datePublished":"2019-12-03T21:05:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:37:23.002Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-coolest-places-2019/5736038/neuschwanstein-castle-hohenschwangau-germany/","keywords":["time for kids"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4240400b4a396cd7/698a051116d8844157c3735a/neuschwanstein-castle-germany-tfk-worlds-coolest-places-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4240400b4a396cd7/698a051116d8844157c3735a/neuschwanstein-castle-germany-tfk-worlds-coolest-places-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-coolest-places-2019/5736038/neuschwanstein-castle-hohenschwangau-germany/","name":"Neuschwanstein Castle"}}]}] ```