Schloss Bürgeln hosts weddings, civil and church ceremonies, receptions, banquets for up to 80 guests and smaller meetings, seminars and lectures. The palace stands on a hill above the Rhine valley in the Markgräflerland, in the municipality of Schliengen in southern Baden. It belongs to the non-profit Bürgelnbund association, founded in 1920 to save it.
Seminars and company events
Company use is limited to meetings, seminars and lectures. The Gleichensteinsaal, which measures six by sixteen meters, is the main room for these, and smaller rooms are available for separate groups. The castle management also arranges group tours outside regular hours and puts together tailored offers, for example a wine tasting inside the castle walls, which can close a meeting day.
Weddings and receptions
Couples can marry in several settings. Civil ceremonies take place in the Bildersaal or, in fine weather, in the Rosengarten; the castle reserves the date first and then contacts the registry office of Schliengen. Church ceremonies are held in the castle chapel. Receptions use the park, the garden and the terrace, with the Vestibül for a champagne reception and as the fallback if the weather turns. The wedding dinner is served in the Gleichensteinsaal. Celebrations can run until 2 a.m. The castle also hosts christenings, anniversaries and memorial gatherings.
Rooms and capacities
The Gleichensteinsaal, in the east wing added in the early 20th century, takes a banquet of up to 80 guests, a figure that includes use of the park. The Bildersaal, the Vestibül and the chapel are used for ceremonies and receptions; the castle does not publish separate capacities for them. Outdoors, the Rosengarten, the park and the terrace serve for ceremonies and drinks. The castle provides tables, chairs, crockery and glasses.
Catering
Catering comes only from the castle's list of approved caterers: seven offer receptions with food and nine offer drinks receptions. Outside caterers are not allowed. The caterer sets up, serves and cleans up at the end, and table linen, chair covers and any tents for the park are ordered through the caterer. The Schloss Stübli, a restaurant on the site run separately, serves lunch, dinner, coffee and cake to visitors outside private events.
History and setting
Around 1125 the lords of Kaltenbach gave the Bürgelnberg to the Benedictine abbey of St. Blasien, whose monks founded a small priory there; a charter of Lothar III dated January 2, 1126 mentions it. In 1762 the architect Franz Anton Bagnato rebuilt the priory as an early classicist palace with Rococo decoration, and it served as a secondary residence of the prince-abbots until secularization. After a long decline in the 19th century, the Bürgelnbund was founded in the summer of 1920, and the industrialist Richard Sichler financed a restoration that took six years. From the terrace, on clear days, the view takes in the Rhine valley, the Vosges, the Swiss Jura and, to the south, the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
Getting there
The castle lies above Schliengen in the Markgräflerland. The management answers by phone from Tuesday to Friday, 3 to 6 p.m. Outside private events the castle can be visited by guided tour only, from Tuesday to Sunday in season and on weekends in winter; it is closed to visitors in January.
