King's House on Schachen and Pilgrimage Church of Wies
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
240 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 46
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Garmisch-Partenkirchen it runs 240 km to Garmisch-Partenkirchen; allow about 4 h 46 of riding. On the way it passes Linderhof Castle, Pilgrimage Church of Wies, The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: and back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,600 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Scenic road chapters
Romantic Road
18 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it — speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
Length
18 km
Named road
Romantic Road
Pass
Ammersattel
Romantische Strasse
24 km on Romantische Strasse.
Chapter facts
Length
24 km
Named road
Romantische Strasse
Pass
Ammersattel
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. King's House on Schachen
This is one of the few royal residences in Europe that you cannot reach by any road, and King Ludwig II of Bavaria would have liked it that way. The King's House on Schachen stands on a high alpine meadow at about 1,866 metres in the Wetterstein mountains, south of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, below the jagged walls of the range that culminates in the Zugspitze. Ludwig had it built between 1869 and 1872 as a mountain retreat, and from the outside it looks like a modest Swiss chalet. Inside, upstairs, is a fantasy: the Turkish Hall, a room of blue, gold and red, with a fountain, peacock-feather fans, divans and stained glass, where the king liked to celebrate his birthday dressed in oriental costume while his servants smoked hookahs.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
King's House on Schachen is where the day begins. Next is Linderhof Castle.
2. Linderhof Castle
Of all the palaces King Ludwig II of Bavaria dreamed up, Linderhof is the only one he saw finished, and it is the one he actually lived in for long periods. Hidden in the Graswang valley in the Ammergau Alps, it is a small, extravagant rococo villa inspired by Versailles, with gilded rooms, a hall of mirrors and a dining table that rose from the kitchen below so that the shy king could eat without seeing servants. The park around it is full of follies: a Moorish kiosk, a Moroccan house and, most famous of all, the Venus Grotto, an artificial cave with a lake, a shell-shaped boat and coloured lighting, built so Ludwig could imagine himself in a Wagner opera. Linderhof belongs to the group of Ludwig's palaces recently listed by UNESCO.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Linderhof Castle comes up 23 km in. Next is Pilgrimage Church of Wies.
3. Pilgrimage Church of Wies
In a meadow at the foot of the Ammergau Alps, surrounded by fields, cows and a few farmhouses, stands one of the most extraordinary churches in Europe. From the outside, the Wieskirche looks fairly plain, a white building with a modest tower. Step inside and you are hit by a wave of light, colour and movement: white and gold stucco, pastel frescoes, columns and galleries that seem to float, and a ceiling painting of Christ's return that opens the roof into heaven. It is the masterpiece of the Bavarian Rococo, built between 1745 and 1754 by Dominikus Zimmermann, with frescoes by his brother Johann Baptist, and it was listed by UNESCO in 1983.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
47 km in you reach Pilgrimage Church of Wies. Next is The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:.
4. The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:
Neuschwanstein is the castle that everybody has seen before they arrive, and it is almost impossible to see it freshly. Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria, had it built from 1869 as a private retreat in the style of a medieval knight's castle, with towers, turrets and rooms painted with scenes from the operas of Wagner, whom he adored. It stands on a rocky spur above the Pöllat gorge, with the Alpsee lake and the plain below. Ludwig lived in it only a few months before he was declared unfit to rule and died in mysterious circumstances in Lake Starnberg in June 1886, at the age of forty. The castle was opened to the public within weeks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 240 km.
Leg by leg
King's House on Schachen to Linderhof Castle
King's House on Schachen → Linderhof Castle is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Linderhof Castle to Pilgrimage Church of Wies
Linderhof Castle → Pilgrimage Church of Wies is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pilgrimage Church of Wies to The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:
Pilgrimage Church of Wies → The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: to Pilgrimage Church of Wies
The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: → Pilgrimage Church of Wies is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pilgrimage Church of Wies to back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria:
Pilgrimage Church of Wies → back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: to back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies
back through The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: → back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies to back through Linderhof Castle
back through Pilgrimage Church of Wies → back through Linderhof Castle is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Linderhof Castle to King's House on Schachen
back through Linderhof Castle → King's House on Schachen is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.