Venusgrotte, Artificial cave in Linderhof, Germany

The Venus Grotto is an artificial cave built from 1875 to 1877 in the park of Linderhof Palace. Its iron frame is covered with impregnated canvas sprayed with cement to form artificial stalactites. Inside, two side caves and a main cave surround a lake, with painted scenes from Wagner's Tannhäuser and a shell-shaped boat made for King Ludwig II.

Construction took place from 1876 to 1877 under King Ludwig II of Bavaria, recreating the first scene of Wagner's opera Tannhäuser. The technical innovations of the grotto represented cutting-edge engineering for that era.

The grotto stages Wagner's Tannhäuser: August von Heckel's painting "Tannhäuser bei Frau Venus" fills the rear wall of the main cave, and the walls carry wax-coated landscape scenes from the opera. Franz von Seitz designed the shell-shaped boat and a shell throne with coral, coral chairs and coral candlesticks, all motifs of Venus.

The grotto lies behind tall trees at the edge of Linderhof Park, reached by winding paths and a funnel-shaped rock cut with a double door. The path slopes gently downward, and a bend hides the view back. Inside, the air is cool and damp; seven stoves once heated the space days in advance.

The crystal throne on the Loreley rock has glass prisms lit from below by electric bulbs since 1877, reflecting rainbow colours onto the walls; the battery rack survives. The patent for light bulbs was only granted in 1880.