Gasthof Schützen

Gasthof Schützen is a hotel, restaurant and bar in Steffisburg, next to Thun, with more than 145 years of history as an inn. For weddings it offers two things: celebrations in its own banquet rooms, with its kitchen and 45 hotel rooms on site, and catering at another location through BeO-Catering, a small catering team backed by the Schützen and the Krone in Thun. The second offer lets a couple marry at a castle, a farm or a garden in the region and still have a hotel kitchen behind them.

From village inn to business hotel

The history page tells the story in detail. It began in 1877 as a small inn owned by the Haueter family, who also farmed a little and kept a small village shop. In 1893 the second generation rebuilt the house and added a butcher's shop. In 1951 hotel rooms and a restaurant were built, and the third generation added a bowling alley, replaced from 1965 by a rôtisserie and a bar. After 129 years and five generations, the Haueters handed the Schützen to the Hauenstein family in 2006. Urs Hauenstein and Silvia Hauenstein renovated it under the motto "gehoben, aber nicht abgehoben" (upscale but down to earth). In 2015 a new hotel building went up on the property with 45 modern rooms and seminar rooms, and the page says the hall can host up to 100 people for any kind of event.

David Hauenstein ran the house from 2020. Since 1 January 2024 Sarah Stübi and Evelyne Morf have led the management, as David now owns the Vennerhus in Grosshöchstetten; the page says he will still be seen at the Schützen from time to time. The house describes itself as a proud training business with apprenticeships in several areas.

Weddings at the Schützen

The events page, headed "Bühne frei für Ihr Fest!" (the stage is yours), names the wedding among the celebrations it hosts and promises to take care of the organization. Menus run from traditional to refined and from finger food to 5 courses, for different budgets, and a banquet documentation PDF shows the offer. The rooms, with their stated capacities:

• Stockhornsaal 1, 68 m², next to the hotel lobby: 22 at a block table, 54 in rows, 40 at round tables.
• Stockhornsaal 2, 48 m², with a fireplace: 20 at a block table, 36 in rows, 24 at round tables.
• Stockhornsaal 1 & 2 joined into one hall of 116 m², which the page names for weddings and other larger events: 46 at a long table, 120 in rows, 64 at round tables.
• Pavillon, 21 m², next to the restaurant terrace: 22 at a block table, 32 in rows.
• Weinkeller (wine cellar), 21 m², for 15 people, for tastings and apéros.

So a seated wedding dinner at round tables tops out at 64 guests in the joined hall, and 120 is the figure for rows of chairs, as for a ceremony or speeches.

The kitchen and the wine cellar

The restaurant page describes "gehobene Schweizer und französische Küche" (upscale Swiss and French cooking), with excellent meat dishes and regional specialties, under head chef Peter Brežina. The restaurant has several rooms: the Gaststube, the original inn room, for Bernese specialties such as the Schützen-Rösti and the Schützen-Burger; a terrace with a fountain; the Wystube and the Schützenstube; and a daylight-filled Wintergarten. The wine cellar holds 150 wines, with vintages going back to the 1970s, and the page says David Hauenstein shares his wine knowledge at tastings. The bar, run by Chef de Bar Cédric Laiaida, offers wines, regional beers, gin and rum and seasonal cocktails.

Restaurant hours are Monday to Saturday 08:30 to 23:30, with the warm kitchen from 11:30 to 13:30 and 18:00 to 21:00; the bar is open Monday to Saturday 17:00 to 00:30. Both are closed on Sundays and, in July and August, on Mondays too.

BeO-Catering: the Schützen at another venue

The catering page, "Wir kommen zu Ihnen" (we come to you), offers three levels:

• Liefer-Catering (delivery): food cooked at the Schützen and delivered, with or without crockery, and collected afterwards. The page adds "Kaum ein Weg ist uns zu weit oder zu steil" (hardly any road is too far or too steep for us). Minimum order CHF 1000.
• Abholcatering (pick-up): the couple collects the finished food and returns the dishes, at a lower price.
• Full Service Catering: the team cooks on site, service staff look after the guests, and they bring tables, benches, a coffee machine, crockery and a drinks dispensing system; the page promises someone on site who thinks of everything and keeps an eye on the budget.

The page names gardens, a boat, a hunting hut or a garage as possible settings, and weddings among the occasions. It describes BeO-Catering as a small group of passionate hospitality people, supported by 2 large businesses, the Schützen Steffisburg and the Krone Thun, so that large events are no problem.

The same page lists location recommendations for catered events: Schloss Oberhofen on Lake Thun, the cellar or outdoor areas at Schloss Hünegg, the ground floor of the Neuschloss at Schloss Spiez, the Schmitte Gwatt, the barn and hayloft at im burehus, and the Trinkhalle near Interlaken. These are venues the Schützen recommends, not ones it runs.

Catering contact is 033 343 70 40 or catering@schuetzen-steffisburg.ch.

For couples from abroad

The site has German, English, French and Italian versions, and the hotel offers self check-in around the clock. The house pages do not say which languages the events team works in, and the events page itself is in German. Having a hotel with 45 rooms on the same property as the banquet hall is the Schützen's biggest practical advantage for a wedding with guests from abroad. The site's menu links an arrival page, but its directions are on that separate page.

What the site does not settle

No wedding prices appear on the page itself; they are in the banquet PDF. The site does not describe a ceremony at the Schützen, civil or otherwise. It does not say whether a wedding has exclusive use of the hotel or restaurant, or what time a party must end in the halls. Sundays are the restaurant's closing day, so a Sunday event needs to be checked.

Who it suits

The Schützen suits two kinds of couple: one who wants a practical, well-run wedding for up to about 64 dinner guests with hotel rooms under the same roof, and one who has found a special place near Thun and needs a professional kitchen to cater there. The caveats are rooms that suit a mid-sized dinner rather than a big party, a German events page, and prices only in the banquet documentation.