Training courses, seminars, retreats and conferences for groups of a dozen up to 190 people are the daily business of the CVJM-Bildungsstätte Bundeshöhe, the residential education center of the CVJM-Westbund, the West German YMCA association, at Bundeshöhe 7 in Wuppertal. With ten group rooms, a large hall, a sports hall and 146 beds, it can hold a multi-day program under one roof.
Seminars and company events
The house mostly trains youth workers and volunteers in children's and youth work, and it also welcomes school classes, YMCA chapters, church congregations and sports clubs. Its conference packages suit any group that wants a simple, well-equipped base. The meeting package covers the room, drinks and one coffee break. The half-day package adds lunch, and the full-day package includes morning and afternoon coffee breaks with lunch. Extra rooms for breakout work can be added to a booking. Bookings are handled directly by the house team by phone or email. The center counts around 19,000 overnight guests and 15,000 day guests a year.
Rooms and capacities
The Saal is the largest room, for up to 190 people, and reopened after a full redesign on October 10. The Spiegelsaal takes up to 120 and the Kaminraum up to 40. Seminarraum 5 seats 36. Seminarraum 1, Seminarraum 3 and the Clubraum each take 24, and the Sitzungszimmer, Seminarraum 2 and Seminarraum 4 take 15. Rooms 3a and 3b can be joined into one space for 30 to 40. Layouts are flexible. Every seminar room has a digital whiteboard, a flipchart and a pinboard. A projector and a facilitation kit can be added to any package, and a separate Wi-Fi network for the group is available through a mobile router. A multipurpose sports hall can be booked by the hour or for a whole weekend, from Friday noon to Sunday afternoon. The house also has a foyer, a prayer room and green outdoor grounds.
Accommodation
The center has 146 beds, including double rooms with modern bathrooms. Residential groups take their meals in the dining hall, so a course can run from arrival to departure without leaving the site.
Catering
Lunch is served from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., with a menu that changes every day. Vegetarian, vegan and pork-free meals are prepared when requested in advance, and other dietary needs can be discussed with the kitchen. A coffee station in the foyer is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the cafeteria has a seating corner for the evening. A buffet folder lists options for receptions. Drinks in the packages are mineral water and fruit spritzers, with an unlimited drinks option. The association also runs the Schwebebahnbistro, a café inside a car of the Wuppertal suspension railway that tells the story of the railway and of the CVJM-Westbund and employs people with and without disabilities. It serves regional specialties such as the Bergisch coffee table.
Getting there
The address is Bundeshöhe 7, 42285 Wuppertal, and the house publishes directions on its website. Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof has long-distance rail links, and Düsseldorf Airport is the nearest major airport.
