Schloss Ringberg
Encyclopedia
Schloss Ringberg is located in the Bavarian Alps, 50 km south of Munich
, on a foothill overlooking the Tegernsee
. Not open to the general public, it is a property of the Max Planck Society
and used for conferences.
family, former rulers of Bavaria
.
Like his famous relative, King Ludwig II, the Duke was obsessed with building fantastical structures. Indeed, Ludwig's Schloss Neuschwanstein inspired Schloss Ringberg. The Duke dedicated his life to building the castle.
The two men met at Munich University, where from 1910-14 the Duke studied philosophy and the history of art. Attenhuber first gave painting lessons to the Duke, then traveled through Europe with him. What may have been a love affair developed into something more, with Attenhuber agreeing to supervise the building of the Duke's dream castle. The result was Schloss Ringberg.
Everything at Ringberg was designed and crafted by Attenhuber himself, from the architecture to the interior decoration, including the paintings.
In 1930, Attenhuber closed his Munich studio, took permanent residence at the castle and changed his painting style from impressionistic to realistic. He found his models in the farmhouses around the Tegernsee.
In the 1930s, the relationship between the two men deteriorated drastically. Attenhuber was also tied to the castle since he had lost all his social contacts and the Duke did not allow him to leave it. In 1947, Attenhuber jumped to his death from the Schloss Ringberg tower.
After his death, Duke Luitpold continued to devote all his energies to the construction of the castle, selling family estates to pay for the building and travelling the more than 50 kilometres from his home in the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten
in Munich to supervise the progress of the work.
He never actually lived at the castle but preferred to lodge at the Hotel Bachmair when he had to stay overnight. When he died in 1973 at the age of 82, he left Schloss Ringberg unfinished.
In the mid-sixties, the Duke began to consider what should become of Schloss Ringberg after his death, since he had no direct heir. He requested the Bavarian authorities to grant his castle the status of a historical monument as a way of avoiding heavy tax duties, but his application was rejected. He was therefore confronted with the choice of either selling Schloss Ringberg to the Confederation of German Trade Unions or leaving it as gift to the Max Planck Society. He chose the latter. The contract was signed in 1967 and after the Duke's death in 1973 the castle passed into the hands of the Max Planck Society.
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, on a foothill overlooking the Tegernsee
Tegernsee
Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Tegernsee lake, at an elevation of 747 m above sea level....
. Not open to the general public, it is a property of the Max Planck Society
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....
and used for conferences.
History
Schloss Ringberg was the creation of Luitpold Emanuel Ludwig Maria, Duke of Bavaria (1890-1973) and his friend Friedrich Attenhuber (1877-1947), a Munich painter. The Duke was a member of the WittelsbachWittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
family, former rulers of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
Like his famous relative, King Ludwig II, the Duke was obsessed with building fantastical structures. Indeed, Ludwig's Schloss Neuschwanstein inspired Schloss Ringberg. The Duke dedicated his life to building the castle.
The two men met at Munich University, where from 1910-14 the Duke studied philosophy and the history of art. Attenhuber first gave painting lessons to the Duke, then traveled through Europe with him. What may have been a love affair developed into something more, with Attenhuber agreeing to supervise the building of the Duke's dream castle. The result was Schloss Ringberg.
Everything at Ringberg was designed and crafted by Attenhuber himself, from the architecture to the interior decoration, including the paintings.
In 1930, Attenhuber closed his Munich studio, took permanent residence at the castle and changed his painting style from impressionistic to realistic. He found his models in the farmhouses around the Tegernsee.
In the 1930s, the relationship between the two men deteriorated drastically. Attenhuber was also tied to the castle since he had lost all his social contacts and the Duke did not allow him to leave it. In 1947, Attenhuber jumped to his death from the Schloss Ringberg tower.
After his death, Duke Luitpold continued to devote all his energies to the construction of the castle, selling family estates to pay for the building and travelling the more than 50 kilometres from his home in the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski
Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten Munich is a luxury five-star hotel in Munich, Germany. It was built in 1858 and belongs to the Kempinski chain of hotels. Also it is in chain The Leading Small Hotels of the World...
in Munich to supervise the progress of the work.
He never actually lived at the castle but preferred to lodge at the Hotel Bachmair when he had to stay overnight. When he died in 1973 at the age of 82, he left Schloss Ringberg unfinished.
In the mid-sixties, the Duke began to consider what should become of Schloss Ringberg after his death, since he had no direct heir. He requested the Bavarian authorities to grant his castle the status of a historical monument as a way of avoiding heavy tax duties, but his application was rejected. He was therefore confronted with the choice of either selling Schloss Ringberg to the Confederation of German Trade Unions or leaving it as gift to the Max Planck Society. He chose the latter. The contract was signed in 1967 and after the Duke's death in 1973 the castle passed into the hands of the Max Planck Society.
Literature
- Helga Himen (with Heiderose Engelhardt): Ringberg Castle on Tegernsee : Swan Song of Wittelsbach Building - Place of Scientific Meetings München / Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2008 ISBN 978-3-422-06828-5