REVEALED: Four things to know about the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock

The eyes of the world will be turned towards Bürgenstock, a cliffside resort overlooking Lake Lucerne, when Switzerland hosts a peace summit there on Saturday and Sunday.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:59 CEST

REVEALED: Four things to know about the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock

An aerial picture shows the Bürgenstock resort above Lake Lucerne. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Switzerland will stage a conference on Ukraine on June 15th and 16th, with world leaders set to discuss how to reach an eventual peace process in the war-torn country.

About 90 government heads and other top officials from around the world (but not from Russia, which is not only ignoring the summit, but is actually trying to disrupt it via cyberattacks), will convene in Bürgenstock, scenically located a mountain ridge in canton Nidwalden.

While in the past Bürgenstock has remained mostly out of the news, it is now taking centre stage.

If you are not familiar with this luxury resort (like most non-millionnaires), here are some essential things to know.

Location

Bürgenstock, which first open to (well-heeled) public in the 19th century, sits on the mountain of the same name, at 600 metres over Lake Lucerne, known locally as Vierwaldstättersee.

It is part of two Nidwalden municipalities: Ennetbürgen and Stansstad.

Layout

The five-star resort comprises 30 buildings, including four hotels with 348 rooms and suites, as well as a number of sports facilities and, more pertinent to the summit, conference rooms.

Per-night rates for a ‘superior’ room start at 1,100 francs, though Swiss government will likely foot the bill for the conference attendees.

Famous guests

Over the years, a number of celebrities stayed at the Bürgenstock.

Among them were Audrey Hepburn (who married her first husband, actor Mel Ferrer, there in 1954), Charlie Chaplin, Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, and Sean Connery.

(There is no record of the latter performing any James Bond-like stunts over the cliff though).

How will the summit participants get to the resort?

The hotels’ website indicates that guests can arrive by boat & funicular, by car, public transport, or private plane.

As far as dignitaries attending the conference are concerned, we can safely eliminate public transport, and boat & funicular as well.

Private planes remain a reasonable option, along with the transport provided by the hosts, that is, the Swiss government.

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The study said the security picture in Europe had sharply deteriorated, notably due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, power politics and increasingly destabilised crisis regions.

The defence ministry established the study commission on security policy in July 2023, and tasked it with outlining security policy adapted to current threats.

Its report contained more than 100 recommendations, chiefly concerning Swiss neutrality, international cooperation, armaments policy and the orientation of security strategy.

Switzerland’s long-standing position has been one of well-armed military neutrality.

The landlocked nation is neither in NATO nor the EU, while its neighbours Germany, Italy and France are in both, and Austria is an EU member.

“The neutrality policy must be revised, more focused on its security function and applied more flexibly,” a statement said.

A majority of the commission recommended that the neutrality policy be more closely aligned with the United Nations charter, with greater consideration of the distinction between aggressor and victim.

“Switzerland cannot represent a security gap in Europe,” and its location surrounded by the EU makes the need for defence cooperation “clear”, the report said.

“Neutrality is no obstacle to cooperation with NATO in security policy matters,” it added.

“Cooperation with NATO and the EU should be further deepened with the aim of a common defence capability and developing a genuine defence cooperation,” the statement said.

Switzerland should therefore set out its expectations from its own defence capabilities, and what it could offer to cooperation partners.

With the committee finding hybrid warfare was “the main threat to Switzerland”, the country’s arms industry should be strengthened and calibrated more closely to the threat situation.

Therefore, “access to EU and NATO cooperation projects should be ensured”.

The report also called for strengthened diplomatic efforts on international arms control and on regulating new technologies.

The report’s author said Russia’s aggression in Ukraine opened the door to a conflict with NATO, and said Switzerland’s neutrality did not guarantee it would not be attacked.

The study recommended increasing the defence budget to one percent of gross domestic product by 2030.

The report will feed into the broader 2025 security policy strategy.