These two postcards are from my mother's collection. They show Royal Castle Linderhof in Germany. On the first one, you can see King Ludwig II, who built it.
Linderhof Palace (German: Schloss Linderhof) is in Germany, near Oberammergau in southwest Bavaria near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed. Ludwig already knew the area around Linderhof from his youth when he had accompanied his father King Maximilian II of Bavaria on his hunting trips in the Bavarian Alps. When Ludwig II became king in 1864 he inherited the so-called Königshäuschen from his father, and in 1869 began enlarging the building. In 1874 he decided to tear down the Königshäuschen and rebuild it on its present-day location in the park. At the same time three new rooms and the staircase were added to the remaining U-shaped complex, and the previous wooden exterior was clad with stone façades. The building was designed in the style of the second rococo-period. Between 1863 and 1886 a total of 8,460,937 marks was spent constructing Linderhof.
Although Linderhof is much smaller than Versailles, it is evident that the palace of the French Sun-King Louis XIV (who was an idol for Ludwig) was its inspiration. The staircase, for example, is a reduction of the famous Ambassador's staircase in Versailles, which would be copied in full in Herrenchiemsee. Stylistically, however, the building and its decor take their cues from the mid-18th century Rococo of Louis XV, and the small palace in the Graswang was more directly based on that king's Petit Trianon on the Versailles grounds. The symbol of the sun that can be found everywhere in the decoration of the rooms represents the French notion of absolutism that, for Ludwig, was the perfect incorporation of his ideal of a God-given monarchy with total royal power. Such a monarchy could no longer be realized in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century. The bedroom was important to the ceremonial life of an absolute monarch; Louis XIV of France used to give his first (lever) and last audience (coucher) of the day in his bedchamber. In imitation of Versailles, the bedroom is the largest chamber of Linderhof Palace. By facing north, however, the Linderhof bedroom inverts the symbolism of its Versailles counterpart, showing Ludwig's self-image as a "Night-King."
The location of the palace near Ettal Abbey again presents another interesting point. Because of its architecture Ludwig saw the church of the monastery as the room where the holy grail was preserved. This fact connects the idea of a baroque palace to the one of a "medieval" castle such as Neuschwanstein and reminds of the operas of Richard Wagner whose patron Ludwig was.
Linderhof, in comparison to other palaces, has a rather private atmosphere. In fact, there are only four rooms that have a real function.
This room was used by the king as some kind of living room. He enjoyed sitting in the niche, sometimes reading there the whole night. Because Ludwig II used to sleep in the daytime and stay awake in the night, the mirrors created an unimaginable effect for him when they reflected the light of the candles a thousand times. The parallel placement of some mirrors evoke the illusion of a never ending avenue.
Ivory chandelier
Appointments:
The middle table has a top with lapis-lazuli, amethyst and chalcedony inlay work and shows the Bavarian coat of arms in glass mosaic.
A carpet made of ostrich plumes.
An ivory candelabra in the alcove with 16 branches.
Two mantelpieces clad with lapis-lazuli and decorated with gilded bronze ornaments.
The two tapestry chambers are almost identical and have no specific function. The western one is sometimes called "Music Room" because of the Aeolodion (an instrument combining piano and harmonium) in it. Only the curtains and the coverings on the furniture are real products of the Parisian Gobelin Manufactory. The scenes on the walls are painted on rough canvas in order to imitate real tapestries.
The audience chamber is located to the west of the castle and is flanked by the yellow and lilac cabinets. The cabinets were only used as antechambers to the larger rooms. Ludwig II never used this room to hold an audience. This would have contradicted to the private character of Linderhof Palace and the chamber would have been much too small for it. He rather used it as a study where he thought about new building projects. That there is an audience chamber in Linderhof, however, reminds us of the demand of the king on an absolute monarchy.
Appointments:
Two round tables with malachite tops, gift of Czarina Maria Alexandrovna to King Ludwig II.
Throne baldachin with ostrich feather bunches (as an oriental symbol of royal power).
This room is located to the east and is flanked by the pink and blue cabinets. The pink cabinet, unlike the other cabinets, had a real function. The king used it as a robing room. The dining room is famous for its disappearing dumb-waiter called "Tischlein deck dich". This table was installed so that Ludwig could dine alone here. Yet the staff had to lay the table for at least four persons because it is said that the king used to talk to imaginary people like Louis XV, Mme de Pompadour or Marie Antoinette while he was eating. For Ludwig II enjoyed the company of those people and admired them. You can find portraits of them in the cabinets, and scenes of their lives everywhere in the castle's rooms.
Appointments:
Meissen porcelain centrepiece with china flowers.
The model for this room was not Louis XIV's bedchamber in Versailles but the bedroom of the Rich Rooms in Munich Residence. This room was completely rebuilt in 1884 and could not be totally finished until the king's death two years later. The position of the bed itself on steps in the alcove that is closed off by a gilded balustrade gives it the appearance of an altar and thereby glorifies the night-kingdom of Ludwig II.
Appointments:
A glass candelabra with 108 candles.
Two console tables of Meissen porcelain (which was the king's favorite china)
[wikipedia]
The location of the palace near Ettal Abbey again presents another interesting point. Because of its architecture Ludwig saw the church of the monastery as the room where the holy grail was preserved. This fact connects the idea of a baroque palace to the one of a "medieval" castle such as Neuschwanstein and reminds of the operas of Richard Wagner whose patron Ludwig was.
Linderhof, in comparison to other palaces, has a rather private atmosphere. In fact, there are only four rooms that have a real function.
Hall of Mirrors
This room was used by the king as some kind of living room. He enjoyed sitting in the niche, sometimes reading there the whole night. Because Ludwig II used to sleep in the daytime and stay awake in the night, the mirrors created an unimaginable effect for him when they reflected the light of the candles a thousand times. The parallel placement of some mirrors evoke the illusion of a never ending avenue.
Appointments:
The middle table has a top with lapis-lazuli, amethyst and chalcedony inlay work and shows the Bavarian coat of arms in glass mosaic.
A carpet made of ostrich plumes.
An ivory candelabra in the alcove with 16 branches.
Two mantelpieces clad with lapis-lazuli and decorated with gilded bronze ornaments.
Eastern and Western Tapestry Chambers
The two tapestry chambers are almost identical and have no specific function. The western one is sometimes called "Music Room" because of the Aeolodion (an instrument combining piano and harmonium) in it. Only the curtains and the coverings on the furniture are real products of the Parisian Gobelin Manufactory. The scenes on the walls are painted on rough canvas in order to imitate real tapestries.
Audience Chamber
The audience chamber is located to the west of the castle and is flanked by the yellow and lilac cabinets. The cabinets were only used as antechambers to the larger rooms. Ludwig II never used this room to hold an audience. This would have contradicted to the private character of Linderhof Palace and the chamber would have been much too small for it. He rather used it as a study where he thought about new building projects. That there is an audience chamber in Linderhof, however, reminds us of the demand of the king on an absolute monarchy.
Appointments:
Two round tables with malachite tops, gift of Czarina Maria Alexandrovna to King Ludwig II.
Throne baldachin with ostrich feather bunches (as an oriental symbol of royal power).
Dining Room
This room is located to the east and is flanked by the pink and blue cabinets. The pink cabinet, unlike the other cabinets, had a real function. The king used it as a robing room. The dining room is famous for its disappearing dumb-waiter called "Tischlein deck dich". This table was installed so that Ludwig could dine alone here. Yet the staff had to lay the table for at least four persons because it is said that the king used to talk to imaginary people like Louis XV, Mme de Pompadour or Marie Antoinette while he was eating. For Ludwig II enjoyed the company of those people and admired them. You can find portraits of them in the cabinets, and scenes of their lives everywhere in the castle's rooms.
Appointments:
Meissen porcelain centrepiece with china flowers.
Bedchamber
The model for this room was not Louis XIV's bedchamber in Versailles but the bedroom of the Rich Rooms in Munich Residence. This room was completely rebuilt in 1884 and could not be totally finished until the king's death two years later. The position of the bed itself on steps in the alcove that is closed off by a gilded balustrade gives it the appearance of an altar and thereby glorifies the night-kingdom of Ludwig II.
Appointments:
A glass candelabra with 108 candles.
Two console tables of Meissen porcelain (which was the king's favorite china)
[wikipedia]
You can see my postcard collection on the map below (I am still uploading them, so you can only see part of my collection):
Προβολή Postcards σε χάρτη μεγαλύτερου μεγέθους
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