Photography

Old Crank

(7,266 posts) Tue May 19, 2026, 12:41 PM 5 hrs ago

Alpsee, Bavaria

Near some castle that Disney used for inspiration

[

King Ludwig II lived in that center castle as a child

6 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Alpsee, Bavaria (Original Post) Old Crank 5 hrs ago OP

It was similar all over Europe bucolic_frolic 5 hrs ago #1

Thanks Old Crank 4 hrs ago #3

Beautiful! Diamond_Dog 5 hrs ago #2

One thing that hasn't happened to the extent Old Crank 4 hrs ago #4

20 or so years ago, we visited Germany... 3catwoman3 3 hrs ago #5

Wonderful landscapes as well as castles! Thank you for sharing them, my dear Old Crank! CaliforniaPeggy 9 min ago #6

bucolic_frolic

(55,818 posts)

1. It was similar all over Europe

Reply to Old Crank (Original post)

Tue May 19, 2026, 12:45 PM

5 hrs ago

King, nobleman, or Lord builds a castle, town grows up around it filled with peasants to service the castle. Some castles still privately owned to this day. As populations grew it was a little less haphazard, such as Cardinal Richlieu's seignerie system of peasant plots.

Nice pics btw! Must be nice to soak in the landscape and small the Alpine, in person!

Old Crank

(7,266 posts)

3. Thanks

Reply to bucolic_frolic (Reply #1)

Tue May 19, 2026, 01:53 PM

4 hrs ago

Yes it was. I let my wife and daughter do the castle tour while I struck out alone.

Two good things came from the monarchy/churches domination of the people. Large European parks were the property of the monarchs or churches and we benefit from those holdings now. The other is the proliferation and support of artists.

Was that worth centuries of, in many cases, brutal oppression? Not sure about that.

Diamond_Dog

(41,047 posts)

2. Beautiful!

Reply to Old Crank (Original post)

Tue May 19, 2026, 12:50 PM

5 hrs ago

I was lucky enough to visit Bavaria way back in the 80s.

Old Crank

(7,266 posts)

4. One thing that hasn't happened to the extent

Reply to Diamond_Dog (Reply #2)

Tue May 19, 2026, 01:56 PM

4 hrs ago

that it has in US cities is urban sprawl. Cities and towns are getting bigger but a lot of that in going up.

3catwoman3

(29,804 posts)

5. 20 or so years ago, we visited Germany...

Reply to Old Crank (Original post)

Tue May 19, 2026, 02:38 PM

3 hrs ago

...while my husband's son from his first marriage was stationed there in the Air Force.

We went to Burg Eltz, a castle that has been in the same family for 900 years! It was said that they still use it on weekends. To know one's family history that far back just blows my mind, and also makes me wish I could do the same.

https://burg-eltz.de/en/homepage

CaliforniaPeggy

(156,978 posts)

6. Wonderful landscapes as well as castles! Thank you for sharing them, my dear Old Crank!

Reply to Old Crank (Original post)

Tue May 19, 2026, 05:54 PM

9 min ago

I am always amazed at how lovely the scenery (along with the castles, of course!) is. So beautiful.

Reply to this discussion

Kick in to the DU tip jar?

This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.

As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.