Precise lighting over long distances with WE-EF projectors

How can world-class historical buildings such as Neuschwanstein Castle be illuminated at night in a way that does justice to them? This is a question that needs to be examined from a new perspective, against the background of rising energy costs and stricter environmental protection regulations. Practical application shows: technologies and product solutions from WE-EF are a key element of sustainable lighting concepts.

Neuschwanstein Castle, with its fantastic, fairy-tale architecture commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, is one of Germany’s most famous tourist attractions. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic millions of visitors came from all over the world, and in 2021 it was also Germany’s most visited castle. In 2020, the castle was given a completely new lighting system, which had to meet much stricter criteria than the previous system that was dated back to the 1980s. Conservation of resources, insect-friendly, minimum stray light – the new lighting planned by the engineering office Bamberger from Pfünz considers all these aspects and represents enormous advances,. The most notable change is that instead of an amorphous, yellow blur of light in the mountainous landscape, it now offers a differentiated, sculptural and high-contrast view of the castle at night.

Neuschwanstein Castle: Precision, efficiency and range

LED projectors from WE-EF play a role in making this change possible. Lighting designer Walter Bamberger did not use them everywhere in the project – only wherever precision, efficiency and range were particularly important. The projectors of the FLC200 series are mounted on poles around the castle and cover distances of up to 140 metres: “The quality of the LED optics is decisive”, says Bamberger: “This ensures, for example, that the tips of the turrets are precisely illuminated, without stray light.” To this end, most of the projectors produce a very narrow beam light distribution. All the projectors are fitted with LEDs with a colour temperature of 4,000 Kelvin and can also be individually controlled via DALI interfaces.

Bamberger used this to achieve a particularly dynamic lighting effect. Late in the evening the light is not simply switched off; rather, in the words of the lighting designer, “the castle goes to sleep”. The various parts of the facade are dimmed down separately, resulting in different scenarios as the evening progresses. Moreover, the anniversaries of the birth and death of King Ludwig II are honoured with special lighting scenarios. The controllable and programmable lighting would also allow any temporary special energy conservation measures to be implemented.

Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse: Gobos for illumination without stray light

Digital connectivity combined with extremely precise lighting technology are the basic requirements for sustainable lighting solutions. These requirements are met by tools such as the WE-EF FLC240 or FLC260 LED projectors at Neuschwanstein Castle. In an additional project, special lighting technology from WE-EF’s exceptionally extensive range of gobo templates is used to create sharp-edged projections.

The Saint-Sernin Basilica in Toulouse is a further UNESCO World Heritage Site with a special historical status, which means that the almost one thousand year-old building deserves to be set apart from its surroundings with respectful lighting. With support from WE-EF, the lighting designers “Les Eclairagistes Associés” from Lyon planned contemporary lighting for the church, showcasing it in line with “Dark Sky” guidelines. They used FLC230 LED [GP] projectors for this need – powerful LED gobo projectors. With their precise lens system, gobo templates – in this case the perspective-adjusted contours of the bell tower – can be projected onto the target surface precisely and without stray light, like a slide. WE-EF ETC130-GB inground luminaires round off the lighting concept. They are positioned along the nave and their gimbal mechanism enables them to be precisely aligned so that the light is fully directed at the facade and no unnecessary light escapes into the night sky.

On the one hand, these two projects show how important the illumination of special buildings at night is to giving a sense of identity and community while, on the other hand, how WE-EF product solutions enable night-sensitive lighting – sustainable, energy-efficient lighting with respect for the night and nature.

Project data

Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau

Principal: Bavarian Administration of State Palaces, Gardens and Lakes, Munich Schwangau Municipal Administration
Lighting design: Bamberger engineering office, Pfünz
Completion: 2020
Photos: Frieder Blickle for WE-EF

Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse

Lighting design: L.E.A, Les Eclairagistes Associés
Completion: 2021
Photos: Jean-Christophe Fankheiser for WE-EF