Schlossberg Thun

Schlossberg Thun is the castle hill of Thun, a group of historic buildings that used to hold the town's prison and court and now runs as a venue for events, seminars, weddings and culture, with its own restaurant and hotel. The company behind it, Schlossberg Thun AG, sums the place up in its tagline: "Zukunftsstarke Ideen in mittelalterlichen Gemäuern" (ideas with a future inside medieval walls). It suits couples who want a civil wedding or a wedding party inside the old walls of a Swiss castle town.

From prison to meeting place

The site's news page is a good guide to the character of the place. One entry invites visitors on guided tours during the European Heritage Days to see how Schlossberg Thun developed "vom Gefängnis/Gericht zum Ort der Begegnung" (from prison and court to a place of encounter), and which finds were discovered and restored during the complete renovation of the buildings. Another invites people to mix mortar to a medieval recipe with the restorer, during the restoration of the castle facade, meeting at the fountain in the Schlosshof at Schlossberg 2. A third entry announced a talk in the Plenarsaal, with a stereoscope, on how Schloss Thun looked 150 years ago on its way to becoming a tourist destination. The buildings are clearly treated as heritage, not as a backdrop.

The site calls itself "Ort der Begegnung, Inspiration und Innovation" (a place of encounter, inspiration and innovation). The spaces named in its news items give a sense of the complex: the Rittersaal (knights' hall), the Plenarsaal of the Neues Schloss (the new castle), the Unternehmerlounge in the Neues Schloss, the castle courtyard, the prison courtyard, and the nearby Stadtkirche (town church).

Weddings at Schlossberg

The site's navigation has a full section called "Hochzeiten / Trauungen" (weddings and ceremonies), with three parts: the Hochzeitsmesse (wedding fair), Ziviltrauung (civil wedding) and Hochzeitsfeier (wedding party), plus its own contact page. So the castle hill offers both the ceremony and the celebration, as separate pages. The rooms, capacities and prices for a wedding sit on those pages and on the rental pages, not in the news section.

What the news page does make clear is that Schlossberg invites couples to hold their civil wedding there. Its announcement of the January 2023 wedding fair asks: "Oder wollen Sie Ihre Ziviltrauung bei uns durchführen?" (or would you like to hold your civil wedding with us?), and says two guided tours at the fair explain everything about it.

The wedding fair

Schlossberg hosts a wedding fair in the Neues Schloss in January. The site's news items describe two editions:

• January 2022: Sunday 10 January, 10.30 to 17.00, in the Neues Schloss Thun, with inspiration "von A wie Anzug, über M wie Musik bis zu Z wie Zeremonie" (from A for suit, through M for music, to Z for ceremony) and fashion shows at 12.00 and 15.30. Entry was CHF 10.00.
• January 2023: 8 January, 10.00 to 17.00, again with fashion shows at 11.30 and 14.30, and 2 guided tours at 11.00 and 14.00 explaining the civil wedding at the castle. Entry was CHF 15, including a Prosecco or a coffee.

For a couple living in Switzerland, or able to come over in January, the fair is the easiest way to see the rooms and ask about a civil wedding in person. Couples abroad will need to rely on the site's 3D tour, which the navigation lists alongside a video about Thun.

Recognition

Schlossberg Thun has done well at the Swiss Location Award. One news item says it was honored with the rating "ausgezeichnet" (excellent) for the third time in a row, and another, headed "Swiss Location Award 2023 für Schlossberg Thun", says it counts among the best experience venues in Switzerland in 2023. In 2022 it asked the public to vote for it as the most beautiful wedding location, experience venue or conference venue.

A busy cultural calendar

Schlossberg is not a venue that sits empty between private events. Its news page is full of public happenings: a Thun culture night with concerts and readings, an exhibition of haiga and calligraphy in the Neues Schloss, open daily and free, evening panel talks in the Plenarsaal, a pre-Christmas Lichtnacht with candle and fire light across the town church, the Rittersaal and the castle and prison courtyards, tastings of Italian products in the Unternehmerlounge, and charity lunches. The site also runs a museum section with its own opening hours and offers, and a pop-up and coworking space.

For a couple, that has two sides. The castle hill is a lively place with a team used to running events of all kinds, but a wedding date should be checked against the public program, especially around the heritage days, the culture night and the December Lichtnacht.

Rooms, food and beds

The site's navigation lists a restaurant and a hotel under "Gastro", and under rentals it has pages for rooms, services and prices. The news page itself names no wedding capacities, no menus and no room rates, and it does not say whether the restaurant caters the wedding party or whether guests can stay in the hotel as a group. These are the first questions to ask.

Language and contact

The site offers German, English, French, Italian and Spanish versions, so a couple can read the site in English. The news page itself is in German, and the site does not say which languages the wedding team works in. For general inquiries it lists info@schlossberg-thun.com, and the wedding section has its own contact page.

Who it suits

Schlossberg Thun suits couples who want a civil wedding in a historic setting on Thun's castle hill, followed by a party in the castle buildings, and who like the idea of a place with a public life of its own. The wedding fair in January is a practical way in for couples based in Switzerland. It suits less well a couple who wants a quiet, exclusive estate, or who needs capacities and prices before the first contact: those sit on the site's rental pages rather than in its news section.