Schachen Castle

The Königshaus am Schachen is located 1866 meters high on the mountain Schachen south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Wetterstein Mountains. King Ludwig II of Bavaria had the little castle built of wood in the time of 1869 – 1872 in the Swiss chalet style.

The castle can be reached via a driveway from Elmau Castle (closed forest path) – today called the King’s Path – on which King Ludwig II had himself driven up in a horse-drawn carriage or horse-drawn sleigh. Today, the royal house is accessible to tourists only on foot (about 3-4 hours walking time).

While the rooms clad in pine wood (living room, study, bedroom, toilet) on the first floor are kept relatively simple, on the upper floor there is the Turkish room, a state room in Moorish style, which the king had designed according to the model of Turkish palaces. Precious oriental splendor unfolds here; a fountain gurgles, noble carpets cover the floor, gilded carvings, peacock feathers, luxurious divans, enameled vases, magnificent chandeliers and colored glass windows spread an atmosphere of the Arabian Nights.
In the royal house on the Schachen spent Ludwig II several times his name and birthday, August 25.

Below the castle is a botanical alpine garden, which was created in 1900. It is a branch of the Munich Botanical Garden and contains over 1000 mountain plants from all the mountains of the world, from the Alps to the Himalayas.

Approximately halfway along the royal path between Elmau Castle and the royal house is the Wettersteinalm, further up, 200 meters in altitude below the castle is the Schachensee.