Since its foundation in 1873, the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne has been a popular destination, particularly among prominent figures from show business, politics, and business. By the end of the 19th century, the global elite flocked to the mountainside, arriving from America, Russia, and India for leisure, business, and banking, significantly shaping the property's history.
In the 20th century, glamorous Hollywood icons such as Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, and Sean Connery followed in their footsteps, alongside notable politicians as of the 1950’s. German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Israelis David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir, Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Henry Kissinger, and Jimmy Carter chose this tranquil and secure location for inspiration and work, far from urban distractions.
In the latter half of the 20th century, the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne became the venue for several significant international conferences and treaties, including the “Bürgenstock Conference”, a high-level international chemistry meeting of scientific leaders, which, although it now takes place in other location, retains its name.
Perched on a mountain ridge and surrounded by meadows, just steps away from Switzerland’s birthplace, the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne has indeed always been an ideal and strategical location for such important negotiations on neutral ground. Among others, in January 2002, a conference led to the establishment and signing of a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, known as the "Bürgenstock Agreement," under the auspices of the Confederation. In 2002 as well, the resort hosted Greek Cypriots and their Turkish adversaries who convened to address the delicate issue of the island's accession to the European Union, with the then-UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan presiding. Additionally, three Bilderberg Conferences took place in May 1960, May 1981, and June 1995.
In essence, the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne stands as not only a picturesque setting but also a symbol of diplomatic efficacy and historical significance for global agreements and dialogues.
Timeline
1950 Chancellor Konrad Adenauer spends the summer months of July and August at the Bürgenstock Resort and attends to matters of state from there
1951 Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, vacations at Bürgenstock Resort for the first time with his daughter Indira Gandhi
1953 Meeting between Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, and Karl Gruber, Foreign Minister of Austria
1960 In the 1960’s, Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti lived in a chalet for several years as permanent residents, as well as Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer
1964 During the filming of the James Bond movie "Goldfinger", the entire film crew including Bond actor Sean Connery stayed for one month at the Palace Hotel
Conferences and Meetings
1953 Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, meets with his European ambassadors
1957 First large conference held by the firm Esso
1957 International Rotary Convention
1957 International congress of the plastics industry
1957-1980 Meetings of Schweizer Volksdienst (later SV-Service)
1958 World Health Organization Conference
1959 IATA Conference
1960 Bilderberg Conference (28-29 May)
1960 Farner Kommunikation Zürich (repeated annually until the 1970s)
1961 European Operations Paper CY 1961, New York
1963 Kraft Unlimited International Management Conference
1964 Mobil Oil Mediterania - West Africa Inc.
1965 Intl. Management Seminar of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
1965 Europadress Congress
1965-1989 Bürgenstock Conferences (EUCHEM Conference on Stereochemistry)
1966 IVth International Lux Film Festival
1967 Vth International Lux Film Festival
1967 Alusuisse Management Conference
1967 Meeting of the Stanley Foundation
1968 Stanford Research Institute Alumni Meeting
1969 Esso Conference
1969 ISMA International Conference
1971 Pharma World Meeting Conference of Ciba-Geigy AG
1971 Pfizer Europe Chemicals Meeting
1975 Rank Xerox Conference
1975 XXth Congress of European Glass Processing
1975 International Conference of Winterthur Accident Insurance
1976 Rank Xerox Conference
1978 European Glass Manufacturing Congress
1979 European Symposium of Airline Pilots
1979 World Presentation of the VW Bus
1980 Auto Owners Insurance Company
1981 Atlas Copco Air Power, International Management Conference
1981 Bilderberg Conference (15-17 May)
1981 MCE Brussels, Management Course for Presidents
1981 Peat Marwick Mitchell - International Management Program of Northwestern University
1995 Bilderberg Conference (8-11 June)
1997-2006 Bürgenstock Meeting (SFOA: Swiss Futures and Options Association)
2002 Conference and signing of the “Bürgenstock Agreement" for a ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains (Sudan)
2004 Cyprus Conference with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
2011 Chevrolet Jubilee Meeting
Political leaders who stayed at the resort
▪ Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
▪ Prince Alexander of Belgium
▪ Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General
▪ Louis Barthou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France
▪ Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
▪ Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia
▪ Jimmy Carter, President of the United States
▪ Prince Claus of the Netherlands
▪ Dwight Eisenhower, President of the United States
▪ Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
▪ Recept Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey
▪ Indira Ghandi, Prime Minister of India
▪ David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel
▪ King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
▪ Hatis al-Assad, President of Syria
▪ Prince Hassan of Jordan
▪ Princess Irina of Saxony
▪ Konstantinos Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece
▪ Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general
▪ Anthony McAuliffe, U.S. General
▪ Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel
▪ Pierre Mendès, Prime Minister of France
▪ Walter Mondale, Vice President of the United States
▪ Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India
▪ Omar al-Bashir, President of Sudan
▪ Prince Philippe of Liechtenstein
▪ Walter Scheel, President of the Federal Republic of Germany
▪ Boris Trajkovski, President of Macedonia
▪ Chaim Weizmann, President of Israel
▪ Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court