Factsheet
ON DIPLOMATIC FOOTPRINTS: BÜRGENSTOCK RESORT LAKE LUCERNE’S ILLUSTRIOUS LEGACY 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, 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 locations, 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. Two years later, in 2004, 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 Secretary-General Kofi Annan presiding. Additionally, three of the mythic Bilderberg Conferences took place at the resort in May 1960, May 1981, and June 1995. In June 2024, the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne was selected by the Swiss government to host the Summit on Peace in Ukraine. This high-level conference — the largest diplomatic events in Switzerland’s history — brought together around 1,000 international VIPs and approximately 500 media representatives. A notable aspect of the event was the short preparation time: the resort had just two months to organise the summit in close coordination with Swiss ministries, the Swiss Armed Forces, federal police, intelligence and security services, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Ukrainian president’s security details. Bürgenstock Hotels AG T +41 41 612 60 00
6363 Obbürgen, Switzerland
info@burgenstockresort.com
burgenstockresort.com