Castles in the Sky

It used to be that if you had shitloads of money, you would build the most extravagant building possible and impress the hell out of everyone who comes. Tastefully, of course.

Today, if you have shitloads of money, you build a minimalistic house. I don't know which I appreciate better.

Anyways, what follows is pictures of castles in Germany and some of their nicer rooms. I don't have any of England because...it's kind of deficient in that aspect. Apparently when foreign emissaries visited England in the old days, they were all "WTF this is your house?! Lame." Understandable.

Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam. I've forgotten all the history behind these buildings...but this was for Frederick I or III.

Entrance hall to Schloss Sanssouci. The building was built in the rococo style, which basically reads as "GUILD AS MUCH OF THE CEILING IN GOLD AS POSSIBLE."

See what I mean?

He also liked collecting Italian art.

Orangerie, Berlin. Again, for Frederick...III? This is where he kept his plants, and he decided to build it in the style of an Italian villa. There's a greenhouse inside.

Coolest room ever! 

Neues Palais...and I've forgotten everything about this one. 

This entire room was made out of shells. It was really ridiculous. 

Pink marble room.

Steeple of Kaiserburg, Nuremberg. All my skies were bleached :(

You guys better recognize this. This castle, Neuschwanstein, was the inspiration behind the castle in "Sleeping Beauty." The king who build this bankrupted the nation in his endeavors, and it's still not finished. The castle was built as a tribute to Wagner, and consequently, the motif of the swan appears everywhere in the castle.