Schloss Burgdorf rents its historic halls for seminars, company events, cocktail dinners, family celebrations and weddings, with the Assisensaal seating up to 80 people for a banquet. The castle stands on a rock above the old town of Burgdorf, in the canton of Bern, at the edge of the Emmental, and it now combines a museum, a youth hostel and a restaurant under one roof.
Seminars and company events
For seminars and congresses, the castle offers the Assisensaal, the Schiltensaal, the Wächterstübli, a meeting room called the Sitzungszimmer and the Turmgarten outdoors. All rooms are heated and some are wheelchair accessible. The client chooses the furniture layout, and the events team advises on the right room and equipment. Rooms are booked by the half day, from 8 a.m. to noon, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. or from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Participants eat at the castle restaurant, and multi-day groups can sleep in youth hostel double rooms booked for single use. A visit of the castle museum can be added to the program.
Weddings and receptions
Civil weddings and registered partnerships take place on set dates in the municipal wedding hall, which has 17th-century wall paintings and views over Burgdorf and the Emmental, and once a month in the Schiltensaal. The castle chapel, with 14th-century frescoes, hosts short ceremonies. In good weather the aperitif moves to the courtyard, under a lime tree about 350 years old, or to the rose-lined Turmgarten. Dinner follows in the Assisensaal for up to 80 guests.
Rooms and capacities
The Assisensaal is the largest hall, with up to 80 guests for a banquet. A smaller assize hall, the Schiltensaal, the restaurant dining room, the Sitzungszimmer and the Wächterstübli cover smaller groups. Outdoors, the restaurant terrace in the castle courtyard and the Turmgarten serve for aperitifs. Detailed capacities for each room are in the banquet and seminar documents that the castle provides in German.
Accommodation
The youth hostel inside the castle offers rooms for school classes, groups and seminar guests, including double rooms for single use.
Catering
The castle restaurant, open Wednesday to Sunday, caters for events with a coordinated menu based on fresh regional produce, from a welcome drink to a full dinner, and also serves cocktail dinners and lunches.
History and setting
The castle dates from around 1200 and is protected as a Swiss cultural property of national significance. It was built by the Dukes of Zähringen, later served as the seat of Bernese bailiffs, and housed the school of the educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi around 1800. After a renovation, it reopened in 2020 with its current mix of museum, hostel and restaurant.
Getting there
Burgdorf station is on the main line between Bern and Olten, with direct trains to Bern in about 15 minutes, and the castle is a short walk uphill through the old town. Bern Airport and Zurich Airport are the nearest airports.
