Burg Vondern rents out two historic buildings for seminars, talks, receptions and weddings, with room for up to about 84 guests in its largest hall. The castle stands at Arminstraße 65 in Oberhausen-Osterfeld, in the Ruhr area, and is run by the Förderkreis Burg Vondern e.V., a support association founded in 1982.
Seminars and company events
The Remise, the former stable building, suits working sessions best. Its ground-floor hall measures 85 m² and holds up to 60 people. The castle states that this room is especially suited to seminars and lectures. A kitchen with a storage room and accessible toilets sit on the same level.
The upper floor of the Remise is larger: 140 m², with room for a group of up to about 84 people. Timber ceiling construction and stoneware floor tiles give it a warm tone, and its furnishing can be agreed with the landlord. A small tea kitchen belongs to it. Both floors can be rented separately or together, with or without use of the courtyard.
Wi-Fi is free for the length of your event, up to 50 Mbit/s download and 10 Mbit/s upload, across the whole Remise and in the manor house ground floor and vault cellar.
Weddings and receptions
The manor house is the eastern building of the castle. Its upper floor holds a wedding hall used for civil ceremonies, so a couple can marry and move downstairs to celebrate in the same building. Downstairs, the Herrensaal covers 65 m² and is offered for special events and celebrations with up to 30 people by arrangement. Two side rooms of 40 m² and 35 m² serve for buffets and cloakrooms.
The vaulted cellar takes a party of about 60. Its middle vault covers 65 m², and a separate bar room of 31 m² has a counter and two refrigerators. A dimmable lighting system and plenty of sockets are in place. The old kitchen, 35 m², works as a buffet area or cloakroom.
Rooms and capacities
Five rooms are rented: the Herrensaal (30), the vaulted cellar (60), the Remise ground floor (60) and upper floor (84), and the wedding hall.
Catering
You arrange food and drink yourself and choose your own caterer, as there is no house service you must use. Both kitchens offer a professional hob, an industrial dishwasher, crockery and cutlery for 100 guests and a coffee machine for 60 to 70 cups. Glasses, trays and serving cutlery must be brought along. The courtyard needs to be rented only if you use it on a large scale or draw on its power and water.
Practical rules
Keys are handed over at the regular office hour with the caretaker. Setup and decoration may begin on Friday from 8:00 for a weekend event, and the rooms must be handed back by Monday at 10:00 unless agreed otherwise. The deposit is paid in cash at handover. The castle publishes an occupancy calendar, so you can see whether a date is free before you ask.
History and setting
Burg Vondern is a moated castle site that celebrated its 750th year with a dedicated program. After French troops passed through the region in 1807, the castle was left empty and its steward looked for a buyer, a scene that the castle retells in its guided tours. The Remise was fully renovated in 2006. Today the grounds also host Sunday matinee concerts and knights' festivals, which means the buildings are used to welcoming guests.
Getting there
The castle lies in the Osterfeld district of Oberhausen, postcode 46117. The site gives the address and a route page, and it describes a courtyard and a passage gate whose dimensions can be downloaded, which helps if you plan to bring in equipment or a marquee.
