Schloss Schönburn was founded in 2017 and is the official Austrian regional burn, meaning that it is a multi-day participatory event that follows the principles of Burning Man as well as the Criteria for Official Burning Man Regional Events.

From 2017 to 2021 we transformed Ferienschloss Wetzlas, a unique castle surrounded by the beautiful Austrian countryside, into a magical playground and burner’s paradise. Our original organizing ethos was the “white canvas” approach, where we aimed to provide a blank slate for the participants to fill in with their creative ideas and imagination. Soon we realized, however, that a castle setting requires a bit more structure to balance the needs and desires of each burner, for example between a quiet place to sleep and a kick-ass dancefloor, and we also wanted to support longer-term projects such as the chillout space “Bean”. In 2021-2022, we went all-outdoors at the alternative culture farm Böllerbauer, before returning to a castle setting in style at Schloss Drosendorf in 2023.

Schloss Schönburn is different each year. It is a fully participatory event, which means that participants are not just visitors, coming to consume and be entertained. Instead, they are expected to be an active part of this experience by contributing and co-creating to the best of their abilities, may it be big or small. There are plenty of ways to contribute! You might bring an art project, do a performance, offer a workshop, share food, drinks or other gifts with others, or volunteer to be one of the many people who keep the castle running. 

All our events are based on the 10 (+1) principles of Burning Man, which serve as guidelines for our intentions and interactions with each other. These principles are important to us. You are highly encouraged to start connecting and co-creating right away, well before the event, by joining our online communication tools and platforms, or by coming to one of our regular face-to-face meetings in Vienna.