Herreninsel

Our wonderful taxi driver Heinz became our tour guide for the weekend. On the  trip from the airport to Rosenheim I asked for some recommendations of the best things to see if you only have a few days. When Heinz came back to pick us up for our evening event he arrived with a sheaf of papers on the best local sights, the weather reports for the next few days and the times to do each activity to get the most out of it. We were able to book him for our excursions and I think he has a future as a travel agent.

Saturday morning was chilly but sunny as we headed off to our first destination.    As we drove out into the countryside, I was taken by the number and variety of church towers dotting the landscape. Each small village has its own church and each bell tower has a clock on it as well. And once you learn the area you can tell where you are by the tower because each is unique.

Our destination for the day was Chiemsee, a large inland lake with several islands to explore. Heinz procured our tickets, put us on the ferry and gave us a time and place to meet later in the day.

First up was Herreninsel, Gentlemen's Island. 

This 238 hectare island is filled with hiking trails along beautiful wooded paths. There are also two points of interest to tour. The first is Monastery Herrenchiemsee, a former Benedictine monastery established about 765 AD though some research has indicated an earlier foundation dating to 620/29. At one time the abby was converted to a palace for King Ludwig II while he constructed the new palace on the island. Today the former monastery houses an art collection. Unfortunately, the monastery was closed for renovations during our visit.

So we hiked through the winter woods to see the new palace.

The jewel of Herrenchiemsee is Koenigsschloss or the King's house. It was one of three palaces built by Ludwig II. The construction took place between 1878 and 1885. Ludwig was a great admirer of King Louis XIV of France and the castle is modeled after the Palace of Versailles. 

The building is so large it is difficult to photograph the entire structure. And it was never completed. Only the central portion was built before the king died and construction was discontinued with 50 of the 70 rooms still incomplete.

The external facade is most impressive with sculptures adorning every possible display point.

Unfortunately photos are not permitted inside the palace. But I can assure you that it is every bit as resplendent as the outside. The most interesting points on the tour are the Hall of Mirrors with its 17 arches just as Versailles and the Hall of Peace and the Hall of War on either side. The dining room features an elevator table that works on a pulley system to take it two floors below to be set and laid with food. It is then raised up into the king's dining chamber fully stocked so that no servants needed to enter during dining. This room also featured the world's largest Meissen porcelain chandelier.

Because of the time of year, the fountains were covered and the gardens were not in bloom.

But if you look closely at the photo above, you can see the long garden walk to the waters of Chiemsee. Next time a garden walk is in order. But on this day we boarded our ferry to move along to Fraueninsel.