Photograph of the week: Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany

If you think this confection of towers, turrets, frescoes, and sparkling white walls, cast deep in the green, green woods, could well be a palace plucked straight out of a fairy tale, you’d be absolutely correct. In fact, Neuschwanstein Castle, located in Bavaria, Germany, has served as the real-life inspiration for the abodes of not one, but two of your favourite fairy tale royal families.

Neuschwanstein (or in its native German, Schloss Neuschwanstein), was first cast as the happy ending home for Cinderella in the 1950 Disney classic. Then, just five years later when Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, Sleeping Beauty’s palace bore more than a passing resemblance to the Bavarian beauty.

With its white limestone façade, intricate brickwork, and deep blue turrets, it is little wonder that Walt Disney himself, the king of fantasy, found more than enough here to fuel some of his dreamiest works. The true story behind this castle, though,…