Königshaus am Schachen
/ made in Planet Coaster [real world recreation, 2017-2018]Based on the small villa built by Ludwig II von Bayern at the Wetterstein Mountain Massif, Bavaria, Germany, in 1869-1872.
“this was Ludwig’s favourite place to come, he always celebrated his birthday here.”
a small villa for the Fairy-Tale King
The Königshaus am Schachen (King’s House at/by Schachen) was a small ‘Schlösschen’ sometimes called a hunting lodge even though King Ludwig did not enjoy hunting. Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, also known as the Swan King or der Märchenkönig (the Fairy Tale King) because of the many almost fairy-tale like castles he had build. The most well-known surely is Neuschwanstein, with more than 1.5 million people visiting it annually. Neuschwanstein has become a global symbol of the era of Romanticism, and served as inspiration to many including Disney’s famous castles.
But Ludwig build many other castles and palaces, Linderhof, Herrenchimsee, a royal apartment in the Residenz Palace Munich, and had many more planned. His least known project must certainly be his Königshaus am Schachen, though he loved coming there and celebrated his birthday here. It was the place he apparently felt most free, because it was remote and secluded from the real world.
The Königshaus am Schachen can be reached by a 3 to 4 hour hike from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but of course Ludwig would have been carried up by carriage. It was designed by architect Georg von Dollmann and has a seemingly modest exterior compared to many of the other palaces Ludwig build. Made out of wood in a Swiss Chalet style with simple shutters, wood balcony railings and in a toned down colour pallet it was indeed a sheer contrast to the extravagance Ludwig liked to surround himself with.
But one room occupies the entire upper-floor of the house, and it is elaborately decorated in an Oriental fashion, called the Turkish Room, it is a room to show off splendor. The style is Moorish and inspired by a palace in Eyüp near Istanbul. It includes a fountain, fine carpets, gilded carvings, peacock feathers, luxurious divans, enameled vases, ornate chandeliers and coloured windows. It creates an atmosphere similar to the story of a 1001 nights.
the in-game recreation
I recreated the building in the game Planet Coaster, working on it from the end of 2017 till early 2018, and thereby not using any custom generated content but only in-game pieces available until that point. Doing extensive research to not only recreate the main building but also the surrounding structures and Alpine garden. Due to the limitations of the game and the fact that I was unable to visit the original building myself, I had to make certain decisions that are not true to reality but ties the whole area together (such as the walking route and parking area).
birds eye overview:
situated within within the Wetterstein mountains one can see why Ludwig would have enjoyed this place
Main Building
Because of the limited pieces, their textures and colours not everything is true to life. But creativity brings possibilities to turn waffles into walls and create decorations out of small metal and wood pieces. In the main building I was not able to create an interior because of the elaborate outside that resulted in to many intersecting pieces that made the available space to narrow. I therefor tried to recreate as much of the splendor visible from the outside, such as the wood work and coloured glass windows.
Alpine Garden
Located underneath the house is a botanical Alpine Garden that was added in 1901, it is a second location of the Botanical Gardens of Munich and has over 1000 mountain area plants from over the whole world. The actual garden is about 2 hectares, in my recreation I made it smaller. The gardens main purpose is for research, but Karl von Goebel who was director of the garden in time of its establishment said: “The alpine garden should not be seen as purely scientific .... it should offer all nature lovers the opportunity to see and enjoy the wonderful flora of the Alps”
the garden has a 1000 different alpine plants from all over the world
Restaurant & Lodgings
The Schachenhaus is officially a mountain hut and was build in 1870 together with the Königshaus am Schachen and was used as the supply house for the King. It is now a place where 70 people can stay the night, it is open from the end of May till the beginning of October.
compared to real life
this recreation was done out of own interest and passion, it has taken me many hours and intensive research to accomplish, it will not be perfect and I do not take credit for any of the information given here. Please don’t steal my work or present it as your own.