By Frederica Glehn

Neuschwanstein Castle, royal palace in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, is known all over the world as a symbol of idealized romantic architecture and for the tragic story of its owner. After losing sovereignty in his own kingdom, Ludwig II withdrew into his own world of myths, legend and fairytales.2. sovereignty: 統(tǒng)治權(quán)；withdraw into: 隱入，隱退。

King Ludwig II said, “I intend to rebuild the old castle ruins of Hohenschwangau by the Pollat Gorge in the genuine style of the old German Knightly fortresses... the spot is one of the most beautiful that one could ever find.”3. Hohenschwangau: 舊天鵝堡，由路德維希二世的父親修建，路德維希的童年就是在這座城堡中度過的，其浪漫主義風(fēng)格深深地影響了他，也為新天鵝堡的興建提供了靈感；gorge: 峽谷；fortress: 堡壘。Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Bavaria is without doubt one of the most frequently photographed sights in Germany.

新天鵝堡，神秘夢幻，外型獨(dú)特，是一座聞名世界的城堡。你知道嗎，其建造者是一位頗具浪漫藝術(shù)氣質(zhì)的年輕國王。這座童話般的城堡工藝精湛，設(shè)計(jì)巧妙，一年四季，風(fēng)光各異。它也是德國境內(nèi)被拍照最多的建筑之一。

Ludwig II’s ambitious project, begun in 1869,united aspects of Wartburg Castle4. Wartburg Castle: 瓦爾特堡，坐落于德國圖林根州阿爾卑斯山的北部山區(qū)，是目前歐洲保存最完整的中世紀(jì)古城堡之一。宗教改革家馬丁·路德曾在此避難，大文豪歌德也曾是這里的常客。1999年，瓦爾特堡被聯(lián)合國列為世界文化遺產(chǎn)。. The castle is the embodiment5. embodiment: 體現(xiàn)，化身。of 19th century romanticism.In a fantastical imitation of a medieval castle,Neuschwanstein is set with towers and spires and is spectacularly sited on a high point.6. 新天鵝堡極好地模仿了中世紀(jì)城堡的建筑風(fēng)格，它由重重的塔樓與尖塔組成，頗為壯觀地聳立于一處（山脈的）制高點(diǎn)上。

Yet the King had the incredible ability to combine fantasies with reality, and despite the castle’s heavenly appearance, it was equipped with all kinds of technical conveniences which were very modern, if not to say revolutionary at that time. The construction of the castle was carried out according to a well-thought-out7. well-thought-out: 考慮周密的，深思熟慮的。plan. Running water on all floors. There were toilets equipped with automatic flushing8. flushing: 用水沖洗。on every floor. A warm air heating system for the entire building. A hot water system for the kitchen and the bath. Electric bells were in place to summon servants and some floors even had telephones!

The entire facade of the castle was covered with slabs of limestone.9. facade: 外觀，表面；slab: （方形或長方形的）厚板，平板；limestone: 石灰石，石灰?guī)r。The supporting walls10. supporting wall: 承重墻。were built of brick. The masters spent a long time working very carefully on every hall and every panel painting11. panel painting: 板面油畫，畫在木板上的繪畫。, with every detail a true masterpiece. This is also the reason why the building work took so long and failed to reach completion even in Ludwig’s lifetime. As an example,the wood carving in one bedroom took 14 carpenters 4 and half years.

路德維希二世

For Ludwig, Neuschwanstein was primarily a retreat12. retreat: 隱居地。. After ascending the Bavarian throne in 1864,he was forced to cede power to the Prussians just two years later.13. ascend the throne: 登上王位；cede: 轉(zhuǎn)讓，割讓；Prussian: 普魯士人。After his sovereignty was taken away, he devoted more and more of his time to the fine arts. Ludwig II was a patron of the German composer Richard Wagner.14. patron:（藝術(shù)家、作家等的）資助人，支持者；Richard Wagner: 理查德·瓦格納（1813—1883），德國作曲家，畢生致力于歌劇的改革與創(chuàng)新。

Among the castle’s finest rooms are the magnificent halls. One of these, the Singers’ Hall, with a coffered ceiling, is dedicated to the life of Parsifal, hero of another famous Wagner opera.15. coffered: 天花板上嵌有鑲板的；Parsifal: 帕西發(fā)爾，亞瑟王傳奇中尋找圣杯的英雄人物，亦指瓦格納根據(jù)傳奇故事所作的歌劇及劇名人物。It also incorporates elements from the medieval castle’s banqueting hall—though it never echoed to the sound of singing or festivities.16. incorporate: 把……納入，使混合；banqueting hall: 宴會(huì)大廳。The doublestorey throne room reaches fifteen metres in height and is encircled by galleries on both floors.17. 這座雙層的王宮大殿高達(dá)15米，其兩層均由展覽的美術(shù)作品所環(huán)繞。Its extravagant decorations dazzle18. dazzle: 閃耀。in gold and blue. Ludwig’s great passion, however, was for the Hall of the Holy Grail19. Holy Grail:（傳說耶穌在最后晚餐時(shí)用的）圣杯。, in which he united his nostalgia for the Middle Ages with the latest technology of the time. The king even chose to wallow in the Middle Ages at mealtimes—his dining room is a veritable shrine to the minnesingers’ contest at Wartburg Castle.20. 這位國王甚至選擇在進(jìn)餐時(shí)間都沉溺于中世紀(jì)的氛圍之中，他的餐廳完全就像是抒情詩人或歌手們在瓦爾特堡舉行比賽的圣地。wallow in: 沉迷于，沉溺于；shrine: 神圣的場所，圣地；minnesinger:（12—14世紀(jì)德國以愛情為主題的）抒情詩人，吟游詩人（或歌手）。Ludwig’s sleeping quarters show a clear Gothic influence and are even embellished with details referencing Wagner’s operas.21. quarters: 住所，住處；Gothic: 哥特式的；embellish: 美化，裝飾。The dressing table has a swan-shaped tap inspired by “Lohengrin”.22. tap: 水龍頭；Lohengrin: 羅英格林，德國神話中的圣杯騎士，是帕西發(fā)爾之子。

Neuschwanstein is first and foremost a true fairy tale made of stone. It became the prototype for the Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland and a source of inspiration for Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Swan Lake.23. prototype: 原型，范本；Tchaikovsky: 柴可夫斯基（1840—1893），俄國作曲家，主要作品有《第六悲愴交響曲》、芭蕾舞劇《天鵝湖》、《睡美人》及歌劇《黑桃皇后》等。