Germany · 19th century
Herrenchiemsee is a complex of royal buildings on Herreninsel, the largest island in the Chiemsee lake, in southern Bavaria, Germany. Together with the neighbouring isle of Frauenchiemsee and the uninhabited Krautinsel, it forms the municipality of Chiemsee, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southeast of Munich in the district of Rosenheim.
The island, formerly the site of an Augustinian monastery, was purchased by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1873. The king had the premises converted into a residence, known as the Old Palace (Altes Schloss). From 1878 onwards, he had the New Herrenchiemsee Palace (Neues Schloss) erected, based on the model of Versailles. It was the largest, but also the last of his building projects, and remained incomplete. Today maintained by the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes, Herrenchiemsee is accessible to the public and a major tourist attraction.
Text adapted from “Herrenchiemsee” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Herrenchiemsee ranks #135 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #16 of the 711 mapped in Germany. Founded 1878, it is older than 5% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 717 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 33,463 times in the last 60 days, more than 99% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Salzburg, 48 km away. It is stop 6 of 6 on Ludwig II’s castles, Hohenschwangau to Herrenchiemsee. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.
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