Palace Linderhof

by Adminblog | Sep 14, 2020 | Destinations

The royal King Ludwig’s palace Linderhof

The royal palace of Linderhof is the smallest of the three King Ludwig II’s palaces. It is the only finished palace during King Ludwig’s lifetime. It is the palace where King Ludwig had spent most of his time and is therefore seen as his most beloved castle. In 1869 King Ludwig decided first to make out of a farmer’s building an addition in wood as a small mountain retreat. It was constructed in five phases. The first phase was a wooden chalet ad an extension of the farmer’s building that was owned by King Ludwig’s grandfather Maximilian II. The second phase was the addition and extension of the small chalet to the farmer’s building and in the third phase the two buildings were connected by a huge bedroom. In the year 1873 King Ludwig decided to surround the wooden buildings by a stone wall to guarantee more stability and in the year 1874 it was extended to the nowadays extension including also a new staircase and hallway. In the year 1876 the interior was finished to the nowadays extensions. In the year 1885/86 the master’s bedroom was extended and this had as a consequence a last big change to the size and rooming to the nowadays form.

In the year 1874 King Ludwig approved the construction and extension of the park. He desired to make a copy of the park of Versailles during the time of King Ludwig 14th (the sun king). In the year 1873, after becoming the owner of the Island in the Chiemsee the plans have been changed to not make a copy of Versailles any more and due to the valley space it was also not possible to make it to the extension of Versailles. Therefore a fountain that can raise up to 75ft. was made here and a cascade with over 30 marble steps due to the mountain location and leading into the neptune fountain with the so-called music pavilion. In the park King Ludwig also wanted to realize his dream of 1001 nights and made a small retreat hut in the style of Marocco with beautiful colors from the middle east and created a great new technology grotta, the so-called venus grotta. The grotta will be explained further down. Kind Ludwig forced the architectures for a very fast finish of work and therefore in the park more than 180 workers worked to finish the park as soon as possible.

The palace of Linderhof includes also elements of the bavarian rococo and includes also actual art from the 19th century. In the total construction it does not have any kind of example and can be defined as a new creation. A very important factor is that King Ludwig decided to use the wood and wood workers from nearby. It does not seem as it would have been made out of wood and then was covered then. Furthermore he invented already for the workers that they receive money, even if they would be sick at home, a very unusual thing for that time. In the year 1886 the palace and the gardens were finished and some people say that also king Ludwig finished his life idea of creating a wonderful world for himself and for the area.

The park is one of the most important part of the palace of Linderhof. It shows in the best way how King Ludwig lived and created his world. Especially the walk in the extended park is a must at this palace where the hilly area of the park was used perfectly to create on the upper part the Venus grotta, an artificial dripstone grotta with a lake and a waterfall. It was created to the first act of the famous Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser” (King Ludwig’s favorite composer). Besides the “king’s seat”, also a lordly rock and a venus shell in the middle of an artificial lake.

In order to strengthen his reality it was shown with floor lightning. It took them 12 dynamos in order to create the electricity for it. That was created in the electricity’s building in about 300ft. distance, Bavaria’s first electricity building. Below was a music pavilion, the cascades and the neptune fountain, before getting to the palace and the fountain in front. In the park can be also found the Moroccan building, a historical pavilion, the forbidden gate, the Hunding’s hut and the Gurnemanz Hermitage, another creation of the King’s ludwig’s fantasy world.

The royal King ludwig’s palace of Linderhof nearby Oberammergau and bedded in the middle of the mountains shows the only finished King Ludwig’s palace and shows his idea of of a small retreat, similar to the retreat of Versailles, called Marly and was brought to the standard of the 19th century. The highlights is the park and the small grotta. In his last will King Ludwig wanted that each palace and castle should be destroyed after his death. Luckily the Bavarian state decided differently and gives us now days the possibility to visit all of his retreat castle and his dreamworld. The palace of Linderhof was the most loved one by this king and finished during his lifetime. With almost 450.000 visitors it is the less seen palace of the three and is open almost the whole year around. Enjoy the palace of Linderhof and see the spectacular landscape around the palace. See, feel and enter the dreamworld of this eccentric king and learn why he chose place and what it brought to the area. Enjoy also the ride to the nearby village of Oberammergau, etc. it is a fascinating and great opportunity and see all the prejudices of Bavarian landscape there.

Enjoy a trip to the palace of Linderhof and the nearby area with Be special tours. Have the best of Salzburg and surrounding with B(e)specialtours!

The Palace of Herrenchiemsee

by Adminblog | Aug 31, 2020 | Destinations

King Ludwig’s Versailles – the palace of Herrenchiemsee

King Ludwig is for sure one of the most famous person of Bavaria and for sure on of the most famous royal of Germany. He was only the ruler of Bavaria and with his idea of not caring that much any more for the state he started to get more and more into his dreamworld and did everything in order to make his dreamworld as alive as possible. On one side he helped underdeveloped areas with his construction to give jobs to people there and also nowadays as a tourist attraction but on the other hand also brought the state very close to bankruptcy.

The most famous castle he constructed was “Neuschwanstein” which was also used by Disney as a typically dream castle and takes place in several Disney stories. Hid dreamworld was it to construct different palaces and castles to strengthen his fantasy even more. He was able to create three palaces of which only one has been finished: The “Linderhof”, the smallest place close to Oberammergau. The second most advanced was the place of “Neuschwanstein”, nearby Füssen and the third palace is the palace of “Herrenchiemsee, on the lake of Chiemsee. For each palace he used a different theme. For Neuschwanstein and Linderhof he used as a basis Richard Wagner, the palace of Herrenchiemsee is a difference: He used for this palace as a basis the famous “sun king of France”: Ludwig the 14th. who also created the palace of Versailles.

The royal palace of Herrenchiemsee reflects the Bavarian style and the dream world at it’s best: It was the last project of King LudwigII of Bavaria and ended with his death in the year 1886 at a mostly unfinished condition. After a travel to France and a visit of the palace of Versailles King Ludwig wanted to create a similar palace in Bavaria. After hearing that the island of Herrenchiemsee will be sold, King Ludwig bought the island. Even if the island was flat and the Chiemgau area was not full of mountains and did not appear to King Ludwig as great but the island turned out to be the perfect area to build the copy of Versailles, as it is very private and not easy to get there. The big ideal was King Ludwig 14th from France who used to say: “I am the state” and saw himself as the sun king because of the favors towards the church. The palace of Herrenchiemsee is the most expensive palace of King LudwigII: It costed until his death more than the Linderhof and the castle of Neuschwanstein together. With the building of the castles he supported a lot the local industry and increased the handcrafted arts to the peak of that time.

King Ludwig decided for each castle to have a collection: In Herrenchiemsee he hosted his clock and watch collection, in Linderhof his Vase collection and in Neuschwanstein his collection of swans.

Even if King Ludwig’s last wish was it that nobody should ever see the inside of his castles and that they should be destroyed after his death, the state of Bavaria opened just several weeks after his death the castles and are nowadays one of the biggest tourist attractions in Germany. So enjoy and see the palace of Herrenchiemsee.

The royal King ludwig’s palace of Herrenchiemsee on the men’s island of the Chiemsee shows you perfectly how King Ludwig lived and how he created his dream world around him and how he wanted to bring it to the standard of the 19th century. In his last wish King Ludwig wanted that each palace and castle should be destroyed after his death. Lucky the Bavarian state decided differently and gives us now days the possibility to visit all of his dream castles and brings us closer to his ideas and lifestyle. Each room and exhibition item will be explained during a tour of the palace and shows you all the different steps of the construction. Enjoy also the unfinished part of the palace that explains you even more the development of this palace. See, feel and enter the dreamworld of this eccentric king and why he brought the state almost to bankruptcy due to the master builder of King LudwigII!

Enjoy a trip to the lake of Chiemsee and visit this palace with Be Special Tours. Have fun in Salzburg with Be special tours!

Hallein

by Adminblog | Jun 4, 2020 | Destinations

Hallein – from an industrial town to Creativity

Hallein is a city in the region of Salzburg that shows you a hard-working and salt city that brought to the city of Salzburg lots of money and nice buildings. It was a city that really established in the 12th century and is a city that is nowadays really involving into a new lifestyle city. Historically wise this town was always a very hard-working city as being the city where the salt was heated and packed, where the timber from the mountains was taken out of the river of Salzach. A very famous composer originated from this town: Franz Xaver Gruber (the co-composer of the famous christmas song: Silent night, holy night).

Timber plays still nowadays an important role in the town since the former factory of paper is used as fiber company that produces nowadays still lots of viscose textile paper and bio energy for the town of Hallein and it’s surrounding villages.

Even if in the second world war the town hosted a big factory of engines for airplanes and trucks it was not destroyed by bombs. It was until the 1980ies the industrial zone of Salzburg. There were machine productions, textile industry, paper industry, wood industry, a pharmaceutical company and some distribution centers. Nearby also the company of Sony started to produce CDs and the company of Skidata started to produce here.

In the 1990ies the city needed lots of workers and many foreign immigrants ended in the city of Hallein since jobs were available and the people were considered hard working but still friendly. Nowadays the city of Hallein is city that gives lots of opportunities to new startups, new ideas and grows again to a quaint city. Renovations within the city help to see the new structure of the city and the new upraising creativity. This helps to resettle new young people and the nearby university in Puch and Kuchl is even bringing students to this area. The city of Hallein is nowadays starting to become a green area and is starting to publish also the excellent surrounding mountains and the industrial flair is falling of the town but the history, nature and innovation is on the go.

Hallein is the second biggest city in the region of Salzburg. It shows you how new and industrial architecture can fit into a nice charming old town. When you want to see how industries worked already in the middle ages then do not miss out the fascinating and interesting museum of Hallein (Keltenmuseum). You will learn hoe this city is dating back to the celtic times and how the history of salt production and other industries have influences this city and it’s surroundings. Around at christmas time it is a must to see the all year open museum about the world famous christmas song: Silent night, holy night. Franz Xaver Gruber, one of the two composers of this song lived and died  in the city of Hallein. By walking through the town, you will see courts and yards where you see history totally alive, such as the old buildings, the pilgrim’s places, the places where salt was weighted, dried and cleaned.

But also you can see and explore more about this town in the panorama picture in the city hall which is dating back already to the beginning of the 19th century and shows that innovation was always welcomed in this city. As one of the trends to make a round panoramic picture Hallein was one of the first towns in Austria to have it. The longest and the most avantgarde schools, such as the fashion school of Hallein and the Wood school of Kuchl are examples to bring out innovative ideas. The industries and communities welcome these talents and support them by giving them facilities and spaces to create their ideas. In the old salt halls on the Perner island each year several summits take place where artists and innovators can develop ideas under professional guidance and where they can then present these ideas to the public.

a must-see is the celtic museum of Hallein where this fascinating histories shown to you and you can see the history evolving. From the celtic times, starting on the ground floor, to the salt production and how this changed the whole city, on the first floor, over the middle ages until the 19th century where you can see the pictures, done some local artists in the 18th and 19th century on the painted walls the pictures show you what work and how the work was here in Hallein on the second floor where you can also visit the rooms where nobel people and the bishops ruled and slept whenever they were in the town of Hallein to check about the salt production. You will also find lots of hints and artifacts that show you and teach you more about how innovative people were in former times and how this is still influencing our everyday life.

So come and see this city, that is developing newly with lots of efforts and lots of creativities. The perfect combination between history, industry and untouched and powerful nature in the surroundings, such as the Lammertal, the mountains and the woods.

Hallein reflects the salt culture very well and brings you back in time. It also explains a lot about some of our nowadays usage of salt. It shows how salt was important in former times and how it reflects even to nowadays. Since Hallein was also the city where salt was taken out of the mine in a sole water it needed to be heated, dried and cleaned in the city of Hallein. Over many years it needed a lot of wood and therefore the wood has been supplied form the mountain valleys, timber has been cut and then thrown in the river of Salzach to the town of Hallein and Salzburg. But in Hallein a canal was already built in the 16th century to deviate the wood from the rest of the river and to collect it and then dry the book on the sandbanks in the town of Hallein. Nowadays the former canal is still there, dried and used as a new place for the city. Since the 2nd world war it has been transformed into a place for homes, playgrounds for children and tennis courts. At the beginning of the 20th century the longest swimming pool in central Europe was opened with a wood slide and a wood toboggan to jump into the pool and with lots of innovative ideas on how to learn to swim and to have fun in the water. The former major of Hallein wanted to create a lot of new things for this town to take away the fear of the water from the people since flooding were the biggest threat in this town. Unfortunately after the second world war it has been forgotten and taken down since people needed jobs and the industry was very weak. Of this swimming pool still some remains can be found. After the second world war lots of refugees were settled in Hallein, since it was the fastest growing city in Austria and the industry used the perfect infrastructure towards the south and north. Therefore it became the industrial center of the Salzburg region and after a lot of takeovers in the 1990ies the former industry town turned into a forgotten town. Luckily the inhabitants and the region had different plans and nowadays former industrial buildings are used for startup companies to settle there, supports by the universities have been given in Puch and Kuchl and they plan to settle more schools and education places here, since the grounds are cheaper than in the city of Salzburg being only 20minutes away from the town of Salzburg. So take a look at this nice charming town as it increases it’s lifestyle, culture and newly gained self-confidence again. Travel with Be special tours to this town and enjoy the scenic area around this town.

Hallein‘s heritage

Hallein is nowadays not only the heritage of it’s own history but also a start for new ideas for young entrepreneurs and creative people. You will see this at the local cuisines in the town and you will see it in some locations for artists and new ideas. You will see also throughout the history of the industry in the area as well as the old industrial buildings are used as get together places for students, artists, startups and traditions. But do not miss out to try one of the local beers and take the time to see the surrounding mountains and the Salzach valley, where you can explore the power and quietness of nature. Visit Hallein and learn a lot of this city – history and fascinating stories of medieval time, christmas and vines – bespecialtours!

Hallein city tours and Celtic tour

If you want to enjoy some great time in Hallein, book a private tour to Hallein with B(e)special Tours from Salzburg, or arrive directly in Salzburg, enjoy a city tour with our comfortable vans, enjoy a guided tour through the town of Hallein and continue a nice drive either through Bavaria, or Austria. So if you are planning to come to Hallein, or if you want to Visit the city of Hallein and the scenic mountains, or Berchtesgaden from Salzburg then please do not miss a nice ride with b(e)special tours! It is fun for youngsters and the older ones and you can taste a lot of delicious typical Austrian dishes and of course a lot of Beer! Enjoy the fascinating city of Hallein – Hallein and history – with fresh ideas, food and a lots of fun – Be Special Tours!

Krems

by Adminblog | May 23, 2020 | Destinations

Krems – City and vineyards in Austria

Krems is a city in Austria that shows you a hard-working and still laid-back philosophy of the Wachau Valley part of Austria. The first human relicts date back to already 25.000 years before christ as a children’s grave has been found. The first settlements in the area date back to the time of the romans since it was in a very strategically position. The Danube gorge though the Wachau valley ends in the city of Krems and here the hilly area ends and the flat basin to Vienna and Hungary opens up and from a rough hilly area you go to smooth flat area to Vienna. Krems had therefore always a strategically position for taking taxes of traders going down the Danube and for transporters to go up to Bohemia and the norther area. At Krems already in the 11th century a bridge has been opened. The city of Krems was also quite some times famous for fights and supports that were brought over the river of the danube to support the troops in Vienna, or to defeat the northern territories of Austria against invaders. One of the most famous event was when the turns occupied the city of Vienna and without the support over the bridge by Krems would have changed the history of Vienna.

But Krems was important in the 17th century when in the area some reformation between catholics and lutherans was very much ongoing. The Swedish troops came to support the protestants and were fought back in the 30years war by the Habsburg’s amy( within these fights more than half of the houses in Krems and the neighbor village Stein were destroyed.

Thought history lots of things took place in the city of Krems. In the second world war the cit was the main city of the area and a new port has been constructed. Unfortunately also a prisoner’s camp had been constructed. During a bombing in the second world war with over 100 death people. After the second world war the expansion of the port and the danube helped a lot to increase the city and its importance. With the opening of the university of Krems and the opening of the Fachhochschule Krems has become an important student city in Austria, since Vienna has become a very expensive city and Krems is not far away from Vienna and surrounded by lots of vineyards.

Wine has always played a very important role in the history of Krems. Also the location is a very important factor because Krems is at the end of the Danube gorge and Wachau valley. Already the romans produced wine in the Wachau valley and also the wine has been also transported down the Danube.

Krems nowadays is not only important for it’s fascinating buildings and history but also for it’s important role of wine and education in Austria. With the third biggest industrial port in Austria and companies like the VOEST Alpine Krems, the Eybl International and Dynea company, also jobs are available. Due to the fact that these companies settled here in Krems they also support the universities and educational institutions to increase high quality education for everybody in the area of Krems.

At the moment there are 12 public kindergarten, 7 elementary schools, 10 middle and high schools, tourism school, wine culture and wine producing education and 5 universities and colleagues, of which 2 are private universities. These are considered some of the leading universities in Austria. It is one of the biggest cities in Austria where a lot of money are spent for research & education.

Besides that you can also explore outside of the city center a perfectly preserved nature and a nature that gives also some of the finest wines back to the population. Without any chemicals and pollution it is the reason why the wine in this area is considered one of the best and most important wines in the are and also quality wise one of the leadings from the area of lower Austria. People nowadays realize that the city of Krems is getting “younger” within the population as a result of possibilities to find jobs and possibilities to still find land to construct for a relative accessible price.

One of the highlights will be to enjoy the wine of the area and knowing that education is not something old-fashioned but really is part of the daily life and culture in nowadays Austria.

Krems is also considered nowadays the capital of white wine of Austria. In the area more than 87% of the yearly produced wine is white wine. Besides that it is one of the most sportive city in the area with over 24 different sportive clubs including also sports like rowing and water sports on the Danube. Each year the Wachau Marathon and other sportive events take place in the area of Krems. Directly by the city passes the most famous bicycle path in Austria, the Donauradweg, starting by Passau, in Germany and goes through the Wachau valley by the town of Krems directly to Vienna.

Krems’s heritage

Krems is nowadays not only the heritage of it’s own history but also a mirror of a whole region. You will see this especially by doing a cruise through the Wachau valley, also by the lots of Vineyards around the city of Krems and this border town between the danube gorge and the flat area towards vienna. Do not miss out to try one of the local vines and take the time to see also the area surrounding the city, where you can explore how nice this city is settled and how nice the nature is around the town. Visit Krems and learn a lot more of this city – history and vines – bespecialtours!

Krems city tours and Wachau valley tour

If you want to enjoy some great time in Krems, book a private tour to Krems and the Wachau valley with B(e)special Tours from Salzburg, or arrive directly in Vienna, enjoy a city tour with our comfortable vans, enjoy a guided tour through the town of Krems and continue a nice drive either through the Wachau valley, or to the Göttweig abbey. So if you are planning to come to Krems, or if you want to Visit the city of Krems and the romantic Wachau valley coming from Salzburg then please do not miss a nice ride with b(e)special tours! It is fun for youngsters and the older ones and you can taste a lot of delicious typical Austrian dishes and of course a lot of good wine! Enjoy the fascinating city of Krems – Wachau valley and history – with fresh ideas, food and a lots of fun – Be Special Tours!