Seminars for up to 80 people, lectures, workshops, aperitifs for up to 100 guests, civil weddings and chapel ceremonies are held at Schloss Oberhofen, a castle museum with a lakeside park in Oberhofen am Thunersee, on the north shore of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland. Rooms are hired for a few hours at a time, and the castle restaurant caters every event.
Seminars and company events
The Sommersaal takes up to 80 people seated in rows for a seminar or concert. The Salle Harrach, in the annex with a view of the castle, suits meetings and workshops for up to 20 by the half day or full day, or lectures for up to 40. The Seetürmli, the small tower at the water's edge, takes 2 to 8 people for a meeting. A projector, screen, flip chart and sound system can be added, while buffet tables, standing tables and chairs are included. A guided tour of the castle or the park can be added to the program, and a caretaker is present during each event. The museum stays open to the public during opening hours, so booked rooms are screened off from the exhibition areas.
Weddings and receptions
The Zivilstandskreis Oberland West holds civil ceremonies in the Sommersaal, mostly on Friday afternoons, for up to 50 guests plus the couple and witnesses. The 15th-century castle chapel, with wall paintings, takes up to 40 for weddings and baptisms and belongs to no parish, so couples choose their own minister or celebrant. The Schlossterrasse on the lake can host a ceremony for up to 40. Aperitifs follow on the terrace, in the Sommersaal for up to 100, or in the Speisesaal, the historic dining hall, for up to 80.
Rooms and capacities
Sommersaal: 80 seated, 100 for an aperitif, rented with the Schlossterrasse. Speisesaal: 80 for an aperitif, also with the Schlossterrasse. Salle Harrach: 20 for a workshop, 40 for a lecture or aperitif, with its forecourt. Parkterrasse: 40 for an aperitif, with the Salle Harrach as the bad-weather option. Chapel: 40. Seetürmli: 2 to 8. Ground-floor and annex rooms are wheelchair accessible; the Parkterrasse, the Seetürmli and the chapel are reached by stairs.
Catering
Restaurant Schloss Oberhofen, which opened in 2013 in a cube-shaped building with a lakeside terrace, is the exclusive caterer for the whole site. Outside catering is not allowed, and quotes come directly from the restaurant.
Accommodation
There are no bedrooms at the castle. The castle lists partner hotels nearby in Hilterfingen, Gunten, Unterseen and Thun.
History and setting
The keep dates from around 1200. The castle passed to the Habsburgs, then to Bern in 1386, and from 1652 to 1798 it was the seat of Bernese bailiffs and grew into a palace. Count Albert de Pourtalès bought it in 1844 and added the towers and turrets that shape it today. The American lawyer William Maul Measey gave it to a foundation in 1940, and it opened as a museum in 1954. It is a Swiss cultural property of national significance, and its park is open free of charge.
Getting there
Lake boats from Thun stop at the landing stage next to the castle. Buses 21 and 25 run from Thun station to the Oberhofen Dorf stop. By car, leave the motorway at Thun-Nord; paid public parking is in front of the castle, and a car park 300 m away can be reserved through the municipality.
