Schloss Neidstein hosts weddings, company parties, Christmas parties and formal dinners for up to 120 guests in its connected Belle Etage rooms, with smaller rooms for 20 to 70 people and courtyards for outdoor receptions in good weather. The castle stands on a rock plateau above Etzelwang, in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria, within reach of the Nuremberg metropolitan area, and is operated by Schloss Neidstein GmbH.
Seminars and company events
The two vaulted cellars on the ground floor, about 500 years old, take up to 70 people and are the castle's own suggestion for company parties, Christmas parties and medieval-style banquets. For a board dinner or a client evening, the Speisesaal seats about 30 at one long table or at four tables of eight. The castle does not describe seminar equipment, so a working meeting is best discussed with the team before booking.
Weddings and receptions
Couples can marry in the registry room on site, which takes about 20 people, or hold the ceremony in the castle gardens. The celebration then moves to the Belle Etage, where the Rittersaal, the Salon and the dining room open onto each other through double doors and work as one space for up to 120. The castle has its own photographers and videographers with photo and video packages, and can build a decoration concept with partner suppliers. Viewings are by appointment.
Rooms and capacities
On the ground floor, the Schlossschänke is a rustic tavern with corner benches and square tables for about 35, and its bar serves drinks for every event in the house. The Gewölbe take up to 70. On the Belle Etage, the Rittersaal, with red fabric walls, a stucco ceiling and a ceiling painting, seats about 50 at six round tables of seven. The Salon, with a chandelier, a historic tiled stove and a parquet floor, seats about 40 at five tables. The Speisesaal, paneled in wood with oak parquet and paintings on the walls, seats about 30. Outside, the inner courtyard with its lawn and the front courtyard can be used for receptions in fine weather.
Accommodation
Four double guest rooms on the Belle Etage are furnished with antiques. Couples often reserve them for their closest family or friends, and other guests stay in the surrounding area.
Catering
The castle publishes no in-house menu. It arranges catering or a barbecue through a network of local and regional partners, and the bar in the Schlossschänke supplies the drinks.
History and setting
A first castle stood on the rock from around 1050, and a member of the Neidstein family appears as a witness in a charter of 1119. After that castle was destroyed in 1504 during the Bavarian War, Jobst Prantner built the present Schloss on a rock terrace below the ruin, and a stone tablet dates its completion to 1513. The von Brand family acquired it as freehold in 1848. In 2006 the property was sold to the actor Nicolas Cage, who sold it on in 2009. A path from the inner garden climbs to the ruin, with views over the Upper Palatinate, and the outer garden is framed by rock formations and deciduous forest in the Schergenbuck nature reserve.
Getting there
The address is Neidstein 1, 92268 Etzelwang. The castle sits in forest above the village, so ask the team about parking, coach access and the drive up when planning arrivals for a large group.
