Christian Neureuther gets out of a limousine in front of the new Schwangau hotel resort. "What are you doing there?" asks the former ski racer and comments on the answer with a grin. "A report about Neuschwanstein? That's something completely new."

The question seems legitimate. What are we doing here? Hardly any building in Germany seems so familiar, photographed, told. The famous view of the castle from the Marien Bridge over the Pöllat Gorge adorns countless postcards, puzzles, beer mugs and souvenirs. Even the fairytale castles from the Disney films "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella" quote the magnificent building of the Bavarian King Ludwig II. It is regarded worldwide as a unique model for dreams turned to stone.

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