Schloss Staufenberg hosts meetings and seminars for up to 80 people, company dinners and Christmas parties for up to 120, and weddings from the civil ceremony to the party. The castle crowns a rocky spur 383 meters high above the Durbach valley, in the Ortenau wine country of Baden, and has belonged to the Margraves of Baden since 1693. Part of the Markgraf von Baden wine estate works inside its walls.
Seminars and company events
The Klingelberger Saal, restored in 2012, keeps its open timber beams and serves as the main meeting room. It seats 80 in cinema style, 40 at classroom tables, 25 around a single block table and 20 in a U-shape. Two projectors and two screens run side by side so that everyone can see past the beams, and the castle provides them for meetings. Lunch is served in the adjoining Weinstube, which also suits small groups of up to 60. In the evening the Lindenterrasse, with the mobile Melusine bar, works for a get-together, and the castle offers an evening program of its own.
For Christmas parties the Klingelberger Saal takes up to 120 guests. The evening starts with sparkling wine or mulled wine around a campfire, followed by a three-course menu or a buffet with wines from the estate. Christmas packages apply from 45 guests.
Weddings and receptions
The historic Melusinenzimmer is the official registry room of the castle and is used only for civil ceremonies. Dates are given by the municipality of Durbach, and the reception, dinner and party are booked separately with the castle. Couples who prefer a free ceremony can hold it in the Lindenhof, an enclosed part of the inner courtyard, and stay there for the champagne reception. The castle event team plans the day with the couple, and vintage cars can be hired for arrivals.
Rooms and capacities
The Klingelberger Saal takes up to 120 guests for a dinner and 80 in cinema style for a meeting. The Weinstube, also restored in 2012, takes up to 60 for birthdays, anniversaries and smaller dinners. The Lindenhof serves for receptions and outdoor ceremonies, and the Lindenterrasse for drinks with a view of the vineyards and the Rhine plain.
Accommodation
The castle has no bedrooms. Its partner for overnight stays is the four-star Hotel Ritter in the wine village of Durbach, at the foot of the hill, which has business rooms with a desk.
Catering
The castle kitchen serves honest Baden cooking, from set menus to buffets, with wines from the Markgraf von Baden estate. The courtyard also houses a self-service sun terrace, the Weinstube and the Hofladen 1895, a farm shop with regional produce.
History and setting
The counts of Stouffenberg built a fortress on the spur about a thousand years ago. In 1366 the castle first passed to the Margraves of Baden, and in 1693 it came to their family for good. It became a center of Baden winemaking, then suffered war, destruction and looting. After the Thirty Years' War the damage was repaired, and in the 19th century the fortress was rebuilt as a castle in the Romantic style. A renovation in 2012 restored the inner courtyard and the surrounding buildings. From the terrace the view runs over the vineyards to the Rhine plain.
Getting there
The castle is at Schloß Staufenberg 2, 77770 Durbach, in the Ortenau, above the village of Durbach.
