This week I would like to introduce you to the Bavarian market village of Neubeuern with its impressive castle or schloss (Schloß Neubeuern). Neubeuern is a particularly picturesque village and was voted as Germany’s most beautiful village in 1981. The village is built around a hill, which has an amazing back-drop of the Austrian/German Alps. I have a particular affiliation with Schloß Neubeuern because my son, Pascal, went to the Gymnasium (Grammar school) there. This is a well-known German mixed-sex boarding school and being based in a castle has something of a ‘Hogwarts‘ feel to it. Any young ‘Harry Potter‘ fan will not need to be asked twice to become a student there!
Pascal jumped at the opportunity to leave home for the Neubeuern castle at the age of 12. Coincidentally his brother Alex, 6 years earlier, had attended another castle school, Schloß Traunsee, in the Austrian Lake district – I will try to feature this in a forthcoming article. OK so J.K. Rowling may have had a titsy bit of influence on the selection of the boy’s educational establishments. I featured the boys in last week’s blog which can be found here).
Let me explain where Schloß Neubeuern is. The castle sits upon a hill which is surrounded by the pretty village of Neubeuern in the south of Bavaria not far from the border which leads into the Austrian Tyrol. It lies about half way between Munich and Salzburg. Here is the Google map which you can expand to find the nearest Autobahns and Towns:
Driving from my weekend retreat I crossed over the river Inn on the short journey from Bad Feilnbach to Neubeuern. The river Inn runs parallel to the Inntall Autobahn which is one of the key transit routes through the Alps between Bavaria and Italy.
Wherever you travel in this region you are not far from staggering alpine views.
Some of the best views of the castle ‘Schloß Neubeuern’ can be enjoyed by driving towards Neubeuern from the Austrian direction. It stands proud at the top of its own hill surrounded by the immediate countryside which is relatively flat. All of my photographs are prepared in high-definition so if you would like to see more detail just click your mouse with the cursor over the picture. After viewing the photograph use the backward arrow on your search machine to return to this article.
In order to enter the village square at Neubeuern you must drive through one of two villages gates or ‘Tors‘. This only allow traffic to pass in one direction at a time so drive slowly. These small gates ensure that large lorries do not enter into the village square.
As soon as you enter the gate you will be struck by the impressive old buildings with their colourful Frescos.
Once you arrive at the market square you get a view of the castle towering over the village. It is possible to park in the square and the town council is currently considering how they can increase the number of parking spaces. This has caused quite a heated debate because one of the proposals would involve removing two old trees from the square; an issue that has divided the residents of the village. If you would like to read more (in German) about this subject a local press article can be found here (don’t let it be said that http://www.ChrisDuggleby.com doesn’t bring issues of major environmental importance to the World stage!).
From the market square you can get a close up view of the beautiful hanging gardens which flow down the cliff face from Schloß Neubeuern to the village.
The colours of the hanging gardens are complemented by the well stocked window boxes of the many individually painted buildings below.
Even the buildings without flower baskets are artistically painted. Some of the paintings depict historical events or stories like the one below.
At the opposite side of the square to the castle is the village church. In addition, the castle has its own church which is also worth a visit. This ‘Schlosskapelle St. Augustin‘ has fine examples of Bavarian late Baroque Rococo architecture. If you would like to see a 360 degree sight-seeing tour of the schloss and the staggering sights from its grounds please visit the interactive tour from the school’s website which can be found here. (it can take a while to load!)
Just to the back of the church you will find a couple of the village’s picturesque restaurants. Many of the restaurants have garden terraces which allow customers to enjoy the amazing sights of the mountains and local countryside.
All around the village it is possible to catch views of the Alps which provide the perfect back-drop to this scenic masterpiece.
It is difficult to find a building without pretty hanging baskets and impressive fresco work.
The next one is one of my favourites.
After a great day enjoying one of Germany’s most beautiful villages I departed through the old village gate, but not before sampling some of the delights from the village baker.
In my view Neubeuern with its Schloß is well worth a visit and I will certainly be coming back. I hope you like the pictures and please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any suggestions or recommendations using the comments box below.
Chris Duggleby.
If you are interested in reading my other health focused articles try the following
Torture In The Shower – Face and Body Soap Allergies – Main Suspect: Pears Transparent Soap
Toxic Chemicals in Sex Toys – 18 Vibrators, Cock Rings, Love Balls Tested – Only 3 Get All Clear
My T-shirt Made Me Sick – Textile Allergies – Sinusitis From Your Underwear
Chris Duggleby 