King's House on Schachen


The King's House on Schachen is a small villa at Schachen, Wetterstein mountain massif, about 10 km south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany, built by Ludwig II of Bavaria. The castle was constructed between 1869 and 1872. It can only be reached by a three- to four-hour hike, either from Elmau or Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and provides a view of Zugspitze.

King's House

The King's House on Schachen was built between 1869-1872 to designs by architect Georg von Dollmann. It is often described as a hunting lodge, though Ludwig never used it for this purpose, instead utilizing it for birthday and anniversary celebrations. The building is the least-known of the palaces built by Ludwig. One room occupies the entire upper-floor of the castle, and is elaborately decorated in an Oriental fashion. The extravagant upstairs interior stands in stark contrast to the exterior and ground floor, which are rather modest.

Alpengarten auf dem Schachen

Adjacent to the house itself is the Alpengarten auf dem Schachen, an alpine botanical garden maintained by the Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg which cultivates over 1,000 plant species from the Alps to the Himalayas.