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Fairytale' Neuschwanstein castle becomes Unesco heritage site

Fairytale' Neuschwanstein castle becomes Unesco heritage site

The Star3 days ago
Neuschwanstein Castle is said to be the inspiration for Walt Disney's earlier castles. — Photos: Pixabay
The Neuschwanstein castle in Germany's Bavaria, perhaps best known for inspiring Walt Disney's fairytale castles, has been named a World Heritage Site, the United Nations cultural agency Unesco announced recently.
Three other royal residences, also constructed in the late 19th century under the famously arts-obsessed King Ludwig II of Bavaria, were also added to the coveted list: Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof and Schachen.
Neuschwanstein, perched on a rocky, 200m-high Alpine crag, is Germany's most visited castle, with almost 1.5 million people flocking there every year.
'A fairytale comes true for our fairytale castles: We are #WorldHeritage!' Bavaria's governor, Markus Soeder, wrote on X after the announcement.
Neuschwanstein combines an idealised medieval exterior with architectural techniques considered cutting edge at the time.
Its main rooms are adorned with paintings of German and Nordic legends, the same stories that inspired composer Richard Wagner, for whom Ludwig was a generous patron.
Linderhof Castle, a neo rococco building in Bavaria, is now a World Heritage Site. — AFP
Peter Seibert of the Bavarian Castles Administration (BSV) said that the Unesco listing 'is a very great responsibility, but also recognition ... for the work we have done so far in preservation'.
Philippe, a 52-year-old visitor from Canada, was surprised that the castle was not already a World Heritage Site.
'We're lucky to still be able to experience this,' he said, calling the listing 'a very good idea'.
Herrenchiemsee meanwhile evokes a Versailles in miniature on a lake between Munich and Salzburg in Austria, an homage to absolute monarch Louis XIV of France, whom Ludwig admired.
Indeed Ludwig nicknamed Herrencheimsee 'Meicost-Ettal', an anagram of Louis XIV's alleged aphorism 'L'Etat, c'est moit' ('I am the state').
Herrenchiemsee is nicknamed 'Meicost-Ettal'.
Bavarian identity
The third site in the Unesco listing is the small castle of Linderhof, completed in 1878, the only one to have been finished in Ludwig's lifetime.
It mixes elements of French Baroque architecture from the reign of Louis XIV with touches of the Rococo style developed in southern Germany.
Its park boasts an artificial cave inspired by Wagner's opera Tannhaeuser, 90m long and up to 14m high, which houses a grotto of Venus and was designed as a personal retreat for Ludwig.
The electric lighting system used in the cave was state of the art at the time, with glass discs used to illuminate the grotto in different colours.
The last of the four sites on the list is Schachen, a royal house in the style of a large Swiss chalet, where Ludwig liked to celebrate the saint's day of his namesake St Louis on Aug 25.
It is located at 1,800m above sea level, not far from Neuschwanstein.
The four castles have become 'part of Bavarian identity' says Seibert, 'iconic and perfectly embedded in a beautiful landscape'.
Ironically, while Ludwig's architectural legacy is today a source of pride in Bavaria – not to mention tourist revenue – they were part of the reason for his own downfall.
The ruinous construction costs of the lavish residences led the Bavarian government to depose him, declaring him insane.
Interned in Berg Palace, he died shortly afterwards in mysterious circumstances at Lake Starnberg. – AFP
Schachen does not look like your typical castle as it is styled like a chalet.
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Weekend for the arts: International Bachfest Malaysia, 'Anak-Anak Malik'
Weekend for the arts: International Bachfest Malaysia, 'Anak-Anak Malik'

The Star

time12 hours ago

  • The Star

Weekend for the arts: International Bachfest Malaysia, 'Anak-Anak Malik'

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Remembering Ozzy Osbourne's style: From stolen shirts to the Prince of Darkness
Remembering Ozzy Osbourne's style: From stolen shirts to the Prince of Darkness

The Star

time12 hours ago

  • The Star

Remembering Ozzy Osbourne's style: From stolen shirts to the Prince of Darkness

His journey from small-time criminal to heavy metal's comic Prince of Darkness started with clothes. Growing up in Birmingham, England, Ozzy Osbourne didn't see much of a future for himself, so he decided to give it a go as a cat burglar. His main target, according to his 2009 memoir, I Am Ozzy , was a clothing shop not far from home. On his third attempt, he recalled, 'I managed to nick some shirts.' But he was arrested soon afterward and sent to Winson Green Prison, a century-old facility that looked like a medieval fortress. His six-week jail stint caused him to reconsider his plan to become a career criminal. He took jobs in an auto parts factory and a slaughterhouse. Inspired by the Beatles, he wanted more than anything to join a rock-n-roll band. The first step he took toward this unrealistic-seeming goal was to change his appearance. 'I didn't even know anyone who could play a musical instrument,' he recalled. 'So, instead, I decided to grow my hair long and get some tattoos. At least I'd look the part.' Read more: Music you can 'see'? Rhythm and beats are now visible through fashion He was the same age as many of the young people who wore bright, flowing garments during the so-called Summer of Love, but he detested flower power. When he finally joined up with some old schoolmates to form Black Sabbath, he made his way toward a style that represented a dramatic departure from the cheerful hues favoured by the tie-dye crowd. The hippies liked soft fabrics that reflected an innocent view of a world, where peace and love would win out in the end. Osbourne favoured capes and heavy boots. He had gone to jail, not college. It took him a while to find a style that worked, especially before the money rolled in. Ozzy Osbourne poses for a photo in Los Angeles on Dec 21, 1981. Photo: AP 'I'd walk around in an old pyjama top for a shirt with a hot-water tap on a piece of string for a necklace,' he wrote in his memoir. 'You had to use your imagination. And I never wore shoes – not even in winter. People would ask me where I got my 'fashion inspiration' from and I'd tell them: 'By being a dirty broke (expletive) and never taking a bath.'' All the members of Black Sabbath came from Aston, the same blue-collar Birmingham neighborhood as Osbourne, parts of which were reduced to rubble by German air attacks during World War II. The members' look was as much an expression of their background as their music. A metal cross that Osbourne's father, a toolmaker, made in his spare time for him became a key Black Sabbath accessory. Osbourne, who died Tuesday (July 22) at age 76, would wear cross pendants for the rest of his life. There was always a touch of irony to the look and sound of Black Sabbath, and when he performed live, Osbourne was a light-spirited presence, a friendly ringleader for his audience of misfits. So he was surprised when some actual Satanists asked the band to perform during a ritual at Stonehenge. Black Sabbath made use of the trappings of horror in the manner of George Romero and other film directors who understood that people are entertained by grim fantasies. The clothing was part of the act. With its hard, sludgy sound, and songs like War Pigs and Paranoid , Black Sabbath frightened parents and made very little sense to the critics who had sung the praises of Bob Dylan and the Beatles. But there was an upside to the lack of approval from the establishment. It meant that the young rock fans of the 1970s had Black Sabbath all to themselves, and the band's horror-inspired look became a style staple of teenagers from the Midlands of England to the American Midwest. Some of those fans would start heavy metal bands of their own, and the style pioneered by Osbourne inspired the fashions of Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Marilyn Manson and any other heavy metal act with a sense of the theatrical. In 1979, Osbourne was kicked out of Black Sabbath, with his bandmates saying that his substance abuse had made him unreliable. In the next decade, he embraced the Gothic look with a sense of camp, making black his main colour as he became known as the Prince of Darkness. That nickname seemed especially apt when he bit the head off a bat during a concert in 1982, even if he had been under the mistaken impression that it was a toy, rather than an actual animal. Read more: Through adversity, a new aesthetic: The Princess of Wales' fashion evolution As Osbourne's solo career continued, tinted round eyeglasses joined his ever-present cross as his signature accessories. That look continued to serve him well when he became an unlikely reality television star in the early 2000s, playing a befuddled father and husband on MTV's The Osbournes . For four memorable seasons, he looked as if he had just stepped out of the underworld, a style made all the funnier when he had trouble operating the remote. Osbourne dressed evil. But he was in on the joke. – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Unesco begins reassessment of Lake Toba's Global Geopark status
Unesco begins reassessment of Lake Toba's Global Geopark status

The Star

time13 hours ago

  • The Star

Unesco begins reassessment of Lake Toba's Global Geopark status

JAKARTA: Unesco assessors have begun the revalidation process of Lake Toba in North Sumatra, as local authorities strive to maintain the site's Global Geopark status following a 'yellow card' warning issued in 2023. Azizul Kholis, general manager of the Toba Caldera Global Geopark Management, said the revalidation process aims to ensure that Lake Toba Geopark meets Unesco's standards. 'The assessment will span five days, from Monday to Friday. Unesco assessors Jose Brilha from Portugal and Jeon Yong Mun from South Korea will visit key sites across several regencies around Lake Toba,' he said on Monday. 'While they won't cover all 16 geosites in Lake Toba, the assessors will focus on representative areas showcasing the region's geology, biology and cultural heritage,' he added. Covering more than 1,145sq km and reaching depths of up to 450m, Lake Toba is the world's largest volcanic crater lake and one of the deepest lakes globally. It is also the largest lake in South-East Asia, renowned for its stunning natural beauty and the prominent Samosir Island situated at its centre. The body of water was created by a super-volcanic eruption some 74,000 years ago, the impacts of which reached Africa and Europe. The eruption is believed to have been the largest in the past two million years. Unesco granted Global Geopark status to the Toba Caldera in 2020, following a nine-year effort by the Indonesian government. The proposal was first submitted in 2011 but faced two rejections, in 2014 and again in 2017, before finally being approved. However, just three years after receiving the designation, the Toba Caldera was issued a yellow card by Unesco. A yellow card is a formal warning issued by Unesco during its four-year revalidation cycle, signalling that a Geopark no longer meets required standards. The designation comes with a two-year grace period to address the identified shortages. Failure to make substantial improvements within that time may lead to a 'red card', which results in the loss of Unesco Global Geopark status. The Tourism Ministry said the yellow card warning was issued due to poor management and governance of Lake Toba, with Unesco evaluators citing limited involvement of local communities in sustainable tourism initiatives. The site also lacks standardised information at its geosites and sufficient supporting infrastructure. Unesco has also demanded ongoing research at the geosites, stronger collaboration among relevant institutions and improved education on the geological, biological and cultural significance of Lake Toba. Yudha Pratiwi, head of North Sumatra's Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, expressed concern that recent forest and land fires on Samosir Island could jeopardise the ongoing Unesco revalidation process. 'However, we anticipated the risk and have taken appropriate measures to address it,' he said. Forest fires are raging across several parts of Sumatra as the dry season intensifies, including in North Sumatra. Since the beginning of the month, wildfires have scorched more than 100 hectares of land on Samosir Island and in areas surrounding Lake Toba. The fires have also claimed the life of a farmer in Parsingguran II village, Humbang Hasundutan regency. The North Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has deployed four firefighting teams to wildfire-prone areas as a precaution, particularly in locations set to be visited by Unesco assessors, officials said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN

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