Schloss Thunstetten, a baroque castle built between 1713 and 1715 in the Bernese Oberaargau, rents its rooms for weddings, parties, seminars, meetings and exhibitions. The festival hall takes 72 guests at banquet tables, the vaulted cellar 60 at tables or 120 for an aperitif, and the whole castle with courtyard and park can be rented exclusively. The castle is open all year except between Christmas and New Year.
Seminars and company events
Rooms can be rented for seminars and conferences, and seminars can use the whole castle by arrangement, except the Landvogtstube. That room is offered as a meeting room and has half-day and full-day tariffs. The castle kitchen with its open hearth takes up to 30 people and suits a workshop dinner. For larger company events the festival hall and the cellar are the main rooms, and the whole castle gives you the courtyard and the park as well. The rental period runs from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. for a banquet and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for an aperitif. Rental and infrastructure costs are quoted on request, and the castle has an online event request form and shared room calendars.
Weddings and receptions
Civil ceremonies have been possible in the castle since 2005. The cantonal authority fixes the dates, which in 2027 are Fridays from April to September between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., held in the Landvogtstube or the garden pavilion. These two ceremony rooms seat 21 guests besides the couple, two witnesses and the registrar. Free ceremonies and photo sessions for couples are also offered. Brought-in aperitifs cannot be consumed in the ceremony rooms. For a larger reception, the festival hall seats 72 at banquet tables and the cellar takes 120 for an aperitif.
Rooms and capacities
Whole castle: all rooms, courtyard and park, exclusive. Festsaal: up to 72 people at a banquet. Gewölbekeller: up to 60 at a banquet or 120 at an aperitif, with use of the inner courtyard. Seitenflügel: the side wings, with individual uses. Landvogtstube: a meeting room. Schlossküche: up to 30 people around an open fire. Garden pavilion: civil ceremonies in summer.
Accommodation
The castle has no bedrooms. Plan lodging in Thunstetten, Langenthal or Bern.
History and setting
Hieronymus von Erlach commissioned the castle from plans by the Paris architect Joseph Abeille, with Abraham Jenner of Bern as master builder. It introduced the French Louis XIV style to the canton of Bern. The main house stands under a hipped roof between two long side wings, which form a deep forecourt, and the plan follows the model of the palace between courtyard and garden. A foundation, the Stiftung Schloss Thunstetten, runs the castle, and it also holds a museum, guided tours, exhibitions and a café.
Getting there
The address is Berggasse 5, 4922 Thunstetten. The castle office answers the phone on weekday afternoons and some mornings.
