Morning journal and courier., 1883-04-02
King Ludwis's New Swan Rock

In view of the romantic veil of mystery which hangs over the private life of the pres ent sovereign of Bavaria, and regarding which the French writer, Tissot, has regaled his readers with many a curious fancy of his in, ventive brain, 8 brief account of the new home the royal hermit" has had built for
 him and has inhabited since last fall may not be uninteresting. It is the mountain castle
 ''New Swan Rock" (Neuschwanenstein) in the sumptuous solitude of which he received the news of the demise of his musical Hor ace, Richard Wagner. The castle is the quintes- sence of royal and artistic retreat it's CO lossal dimensions alone make it one of the grandest palacesIon..the Continent. King Louis
 has inhabited it since November 10, 1882. The castle stands upon the summit of high rock opposite Hohenschwangau. It is built entirely of granite, in pure Italian style. with rich ornamentation, having numerous bal comics and turrets height of fullyr six sto- ries, and being connected with the oads on either side by means of two boldly arched drawbridges In the centre of the colossal structure there rises tower nearly $50 feet high, with two architecturally beautiful ve- randas, from which magnificent view of the Bavarian Highlands is obtained. The roof of the whole castle is covered with copper interspersed with sheets of the same metal
 gilt. An immense courtyard, unique speci- men of the stone cutters art, is entered through 8 majestic portal. The front of the right wing of the castle is ornamented with two gorgeous frescoes, each nearly 40 feet in height, one representing St. George fighting the Dragon, the other St. Mary with the Child, the patron saint of Bavaria. On the extreme corner tower of this wing stands 8 gigantic bronze herald in medieval armor holding the Bavarian standard on that of the left wing the bronze Bavarian lion. The whole of this fairy castle is richly ornamented with double piIasters and statues, much in the style or the Genoese palaces, while the
 splendor of it's interior decoration exceeds the widest fancies. Masterly frescoes repre- sentng scenes from Wagner's stNib lunoen" and 'Parsifal," episodes from the Franco- German war and from the history of the Ba
 varian kings (1S06-1S67) cover the walls The flooring is either of mosaic or of parouet. ted wood. The King inhabits the apartments in the sixth story, which, besides the study. sleeping rooms and library, contain a saloon in which he receives the Cabinet Ministers. It was in the study, embellished with the busts of his parents, of Wagner, Heigl, Von Tam and Lutz, painting of ''Rhemgoldn and plan of 'Linderhof," that the King received the news of Wagner's sudden death through the chief of his cabinet, M. Yon Ziep- Ter. In the fourth and fifth stories are the rooms destined to contain the voIuminous library and the collection of arms, coins, &c The first story is completely taken up by vast corridors and staircases. Electric lights everywhere; JRblochkoff burners in the castle yard, Edison and Swan burners throughout the castle. The stables are ornamented with frescoe representing scenes of antediIuyian life. This truly royal palace of the Bavarian monarch can be seen from great distance both Neuschwanenstein and Hohenschwan- gau give testimony of the highly cultivated love of art of the descendants of the Whit telehAch family.