Incredible drone footage shows castle that inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty – used by Hitler to store stolen artwork.
Photographers have shared incredible drone footage of a “fairytale”-style castle that was used by Hitler during the war to store stolen art.
Roman Robroek and Sven Van Der Wal recently travelled to Bavaria, Germany, where they captured the video of Neuschwanstein Castle, sharing their adventure on YouTube (Boys with Drones).
Incredibly, the castle was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle.
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The footage shows the stunning castle from every angle, revealing the beautiful towers and romantic design.
With an amazing backdrop, the castle is surrounded by mountains, trees, fields and nature, with a small town which can be seen below the castle.
The castle dates back to 1869, when it was supposed to be built for the Bavarian King Ludwig II, also known as the ‘mad king’, but was unfortunately never completed.
King Ludwig II expected the castle to be finished in three years so that he could live there, however it was not built as rapidly as he expected, and he didn’t live long enough to see his dream become a reality.
He only managed to sleep in the unfinished castle for 11 nights before he died in 1886, leaving the castle far from finished.
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The castle ended up opening its doors to the public and construction was continued, but many of the initial plans weren’t finished.
The castle soon became a monument to Bavarian culture, with a stunning medieval, fairytale look. During World War II, it was later used to store thousands of important artworks that were looted by Nazis.
Hitler planned to open a museum after the war, and the artworks were supposed to be exhibited.
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Because the castle was located far away from the frequently-bombed capital of Berlin, it was thought to be the ideal storage facility to hide the art.
After the liberation of Paris, soldiers recovered artworks inside the castle, and in the surrounding woods.
“Today, Neuschwanstein isn’t just a relic from a past era – it creates the backdrop of a lively community and adds charisma and a unique flavour to the landscape,” Roman and Sven told NeedToKnow.online.
“Since its opening has attracted more than 61 million people from around the world, which is ironic considering the castle was made for one person.”
Over 1.3 million people visit the castle each year, and it remains one of the top attractions in all of Germany.
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