What’shappening

Three birthdays, one castle, a weekend you won’t forget. Here’s the plan (loosely).

When Peter, Georg, and Cari all turned 40, a dinner wasn’t going to cut it. So we found a castle — an actual 18th-century baroque palace in Sachsen-Anhalt, built for the mother of Catherine the Great — and we’re taking the whole thing over for a weekend.

This isn’t a festival. It’s not a conference. It’s 160 friends in an extraordinary place, eating together, dancing together, swimming together, and having the kind of time that doesn’t happen in normal life.

No strangers. No awkward networking. Just your people in a castle by a lake.

— Peter, Georg & Cari

The rough plan

Friday

Arrive & settle in

  • •Get there from late afternoon, explore the castle, find your room
  • •Welcome dinner in the courtyard — all plant-based, all delicious
  • •First drinks, catching up, figuring out the castle’s secret passages

Saturday

The big one

  • •The main day of the event
  • •Welcoming and getting together from early on
  • •Dinner cooked by a wonderful chef right at the venue
  • •Music, dancing, and fun until someone can’t anymore

Sunday

Wind down

  • •Very late brunch. Coffee first.
  • •Last dip in the lake, last walk around the grounds
  • •Goodbyes and departure by afternoon

We’ll share a proper schedule closer to the date. This is the gist.

What’s covered

All meals

Friday dinner through Sunday brunch. Fully vegetarian & vegan — properly good food, not a compromise.

Music & entertainment

Music and DJs all weekend. Courtyard sessions, cellar sets, and more.

The venue

Full castle access all weekend. Grounds, halls, cellar, gardens — the lot.

Lake & sauna

Swim in the lake next to the castle. Warm up in the sauna. Towels provided.

Questions you probably have

How much does it cost?

Two parts. A €100 event fee per person covers food, drinks, music, sauna, deco, cleaning, electricity, and the logistics of running a baroque palace for three days. On top, you pay for your bed depending on where you sleep: Castle €90, Gelbes Haus €75, Schlosskrug €50, Deichgraf €123 — all for the whole weekend. Camping costs nothing on top of the event fee, and self-arranged means you only pay the event fee and sort out your own bed. If you want to chip in more than €100, there's a slider in the RSVP — every extra euro helps cover the bigger pieces.

Can I bring someone?

Yes! Just make sure each person fills out their own RSVP so we can plan. Share thecastletakeover.de with them.

Wait, the food is all vegan/vegetarian?

Yep. All of it. And it's going to be great — think proper feasts, not sad salads. Let us know about allergies in the RSVP.

What should I bring?

Comfortable clothes, layers for evenings, swimwear for the lake, a torch for late-night castle exploring. Good energy.

Is there wifi?

Basic wifi at the castle. Mobile signal is spotty. Consider it a feature.

Can I come for just one day?

You can — pick 'day only' in the RSVP. But honestly, the magic is in the full weekend. Stay if you can.

Where do I sleep?

Six options in the RSVP. Castle (~90 beds, €90 per person — mostly shared rooms with some doubles, we assign based on the full guest mix). Gelbes Haus (€75 per person) and Schlosskrug (€50 per person) are houses we've reserved in the village, ~5 min from the castle. Deichgraf (€123 per person) is a pension nearby. Camping on the grounds is free. Self-arranged means you sort out your own bed (hotel, friend's place, Airbnb) and just pay the event fee. All prices are per person, for the whole weekend — couples each pay individually.

That’s the plan. You in?

I’m In