Interesting comment! I knew most of that, but didn’t realize how close Bavaria came to independence.
I’m hoping to visit southern Deutschland later this summer, and go all the way from the Schwarzwald to the Königsee. Everyone seems to say Neuschwanstein is a tourist trap so I intend to skip it (don’t care for crowds anyway), but yeah the Füssen area looks great for a hike.
You still think it’s worth visiting the Schloss itself, when I could be spending that time on the Bodensee or atop the Zugspitze?
Remember that until 1871, there was no such thing as Germany. There was the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, but that was about as much a country as the commonwealth is a country nowadays. It was a loose connection of about a dozen or so smaller nations that were in constant struggle and conflict with each other.
It was only in 1871 that Germany as a country was formed, more specifically, the German Empire. From 1871 to 1918 it was a monarchy, and after WW1 was lost, they reformed as a somewhat democratic country, the Weimarer Republic, which existed until 1933 when the Nazis took over and created the Third Empire, aka nazi Germany. After that it was reformed as the Second Republic, which lasts until today.
So at the time when Hitler came to power, Bavaria had only been part of Germany for 62 years. So at that time there were lots of older Bavarians who grew up in the independent Kingdom of Bavaria. Gaining “independence” wasn’t about an oppressed local minority gaining their freedom as it was about old people longing for their childhood.
About a month ago I watched a 2-hour video covering the entire history of the Germany basically from the neolithic onwards. So yeah I’m aware of the major major geopolitical changes (HRE from its beginnings under Charlemagne, Prussia vs Austria-Hungary, German Empire under Bismarck, etc).
But that wasn’t even enough time to cover much about the sentiments of individual regions at different points in history. So that’s interesting, thanks!
I’m curious, how much of that longing for the old kingdom was driven by nobility or wealthy merchants vs. the working-class? And how much was economic vs cultural?
I definitely think it’s a must-see location. Sure, it’s a bit of a tourist trap. But if you spend an afternoon touring the castle and its grounds, then the rest of the day driving around the region, you won’t be disappointed. It’s such a gorgeous area.
Füssen itself is a beautiful region. My wife and I usually stay in a small local hotel in town there. We’ve also stayed in a hostel in Munich while visiting Neuschwanstein Castle. They provided a free walking tour of the capital city in the mornings. We spent about 3 hours just walking around Munich, being shown its grand and tragic history. The historical landmarks around town are extremely subtle. We would’ve completely missed them without a tour guide.
We also toured the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site just outside of Munich. Definitely important to check out if you’re into history.
Interesting comment! I knew most of that, but didn’t realize how close Bavaria came to independence.
I’m hoping to visit southern Deutschland later this summer, and go all the way from the Schwarzwald to the Königsee. Everyone seems to say Neuschwanstein is a tourist trap so I intend to skip it (don’t care for crowds anyway), but yeah the Füssen area looks great for a hike.
You still think it’s worth visiting the Schloss itself, when I could be spending that time on the Bodensee or atop the Zugspitze?
Remember that until 1871, there was no such thing as Germany. There was the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, but that was about as much a country as the commonwealth is a country nowadays. It was a loose connection of about a dozen or so smaller nations that were in constant struggle and conflict with each other.
It was only in 1871 that Germany as a country was formed, more specifically, the German Empire. From 1871 to 1918 it was a monarchy, and after WW1 was lost, they reformed as a somewhat democratic country, the Weimarer Republic, which existed until 1933 when the Nazis took over and created the Third Empire, aka nazi Germany. After that it was reformed as the Second Republic, which lasts until today.
So at the time when Hitler came to power, Bavaria had only been part of Germany for 62 years. So at that time there were lots of older Bavarians who grew up in the independent Kingdom of Bavaria. Gaining “independence” wasn’t about an oppressed local minority gaining their freedom as it was about old people longing for their childhood.
About a month ago I watched a 2-hour video covering the entire history of the Germany basically from the neolithic onwards. So yeah I’m aware of the major major geopolitical changes (HRE from its beginnings under Charlemagne, Prussia vs Austria-Hungary, German Empire under Bismarck, etc).
But that wasn’t even enough time to cover much about the sentiments of individual regions at different points in history. So that’s interesting, thanks!
I’m curious, how much of that longing for the old kingdom was driven by nobility or wealthy merchants vs. the working-class? And how much was economic vs cultural?
I definitely think it’s a must-see location. Sure, it’s a bit of a tourist trap. But if you spend an afternoon touring the castle and its grounds, then the rest of the day driving around the region, you won’t be disappointed. It’s such a gorgeous area.
Füssen itself is a beautiful region. My wife and I usually stay in a small local hotel in town there. We’ve also stayed in a hostel in Munich while visiting Neuschwanstein Castle. They provided a free walking tour of the capital city in the mornings. We spent about 3 hours just walking around Munich, being shown its grand and tragic history. The historical landmarks around town are extremely subtle. We would’ve completely missed them without a tour guide.
We also toured the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site just outside of Munich. Definitely important to check out if you’re into history.