Welcome to Wolfsberg – UBS Center for Education and Dialogue

Château Wolfsberg stands proudly on an elevated, north-facing plateau between the Lower Lake of Constance and the Thur Valley. The château is situated in an agricultural landscape bordered by mixed forest. It can be reached by a 25-minute walk up the road from the center of Ermatingen. Although it is one of the younger and more modest of the castles in the vicinity of Lake Constance, Wolfsberg boasts an extraordinarily rich and eventful history, which reached its peak under the Bonapartists in the 1820s and 30s.

The frequent change in ownership since the 16th century has inevitably led to drastic architectural alterations. Hardly anything remains of the original building constructed in the 1570s. Despite this, the château and grounds have stayed as a unit as they have evolved through the centuries, retaining the charm of a stately residence in  largely undeveloped surroundings. The present owner, UBS, aims to preserve and maintain this part of Swiss cultural heritage. 

The stately complex is divided into two groups of buildings – one old one and one new one. The historical buildings situated closer to the lake – comprising the château, the Parquin House, the chapel, the library, and the remise (coach house) – together with the covered walkway form an ensemble closed on three sides, surrounding a grass and tree-lined courtyard.

The new buildings, which are set back towards the edge of the forest in the south-east, are clearly separated from the old buildings, with a long colonnade at the main entrance forming a link between the two.

Literature: This text is largely based on the Swiss Art Guide of the Society for Art History in Switzerland (GSK), published in collaboration with Wolfsberg: Cornelia Stäheli, Château Wolfsberg near Ermatingen, 3rd, updated edition, Bern 2013.