Seminars and company events
Villa Falkenhorst hosts board meetings, workshops and seminars for up to 85 people, as well as civil wedding ceremonies with a short reception. The villa stands in its own park at Flugelin 3 in Thüringen, on the sunny side of the Walgau valley in Vorarlberg, western Austria.
The house runs a cultural program of concerts, exhibitions and talks, and rents its rooms to companies, associations and schools for anything from a quick meeting to a seminar over several days. The seminar brochure lists four layouts: up to 85 people in theatre rows, 30 in a chair circle, and 20 around a U-shaped table or in classroom style. On request the rooms are fitted with a projector, a pointer, a laptop, a flipchart, a moderation kit and pin boards. The basic daily rate includes cleaning, seating, seminar technology, staff support during opening hours and tap water. The team can also help plan a social program and find accommodation in the region. Discounts apply to events lasting several days.
Weddings and receptions
The villa is a satellite office of the Thüringen registry office, so civil ceremonies can be held on site in coordination with the municipality. Free ceremonies and blessings are possible too. In good weather the ceremony takes place in the park, by the pavilion or under the walnut tree; otherwise in the salons or in the Douglass-Saal. The standard booking lasts two and a half hours and covers arrival, ceremony and an agape with drinks and small bites served by the in-house team, with the option of cutting the cake. Wedding dinners for large parties are not held at the villa, and the team recommends restaurants nearby. Photo sessions in the house and park can be booked, and small ceremonies for two with witnesses are possible.
Rooms and capacities
The Douglass-Saal fills the attic under exposed timber trusses and takes the largest groups, up to 85 in rows. On the ground floor, the entrance hall, the hall, the salon and the former dining room keep the character of the family home and suit smaller meetings, workshops and receptions. An additional room can be booked alongside the main spaces for breakout work. Several small vaulted rooms in the cellar are used for exhibitions.
Catering
Seminar meals come from the seminar kitchen of the caterer Christian Willi, from half-day and full-day coffee breaks to buffet lunches and receptions. At weddings the in-house team serves the agape, and outside food and drink are not allowed, because the villa and park are protected monuments.
History and setting
From 1835 the British industrialist Peter Kennedy, with Albert Escher and John Douglas, built a textile mill at Thüringen, drawn by the water power of the local waterfall. The villa went up beside the mill as the residence of the Douglas family, who lived in Thüringen from 1837 to 1910. Its plain, symmetrical design follows the English country house and Italian Renaissance villas rather than local building traditions. A renovation in 1947 to 1949 moved the entrance to the north side. The mill closed in the 1970s, and in 1999 the municipality bought the house, renovated it and adapted it for cultural and event use.
Getting there
The villa has its own parking. Thüringen lies in the Walgau valley between Feldkirch and Bludenz, close to the main road through the valley.
