Would you like to hold a conference in Mannheim?

“This time our conference will take place at a superb and secure event venue in Mannheim”.
What an exhilarating sentence! Right now, you can finally do things differently. The time is ripe – the success of the conference is you!

Rustic, yet modern: Our venue in Mannheim-Straßenheim

We have more than one event venue for your conference in Mannheim. The Straßenheimer Hof and its staff offer you the inspiring setting you need for a conference set outside in nature and yet in the middle of the metropolitan area. Our concept: you enjoy the venue exclusively for yourself, be it with 20 or 200 people. Modern technology is available on request so that external participants in Mannheim can also take part online. This way, the meeting can be hybrid, purely online or a webinar with your own configuration

Off to the outdoors - A venue surrounded by nature

Nestling in a landscape conservation area, our event venue in Straßenheim is located in the heart of a green oasis just outside Mannheim. For your guests, this means leaving behind the hectic pace of their everyday normality, getting out of the fast paced hustle and bustle, being drawn out of their comfort zone, and slowing down so as to become receptive to new thoughts. Let yourself get involved with the natural, the original and the real, the uncomplicated and the weather-dependent happenings every day here with us on the estate – an adventure in all but name!

Holding a sustainable conference? — we will help you!

Surrounded by nature, we have been cultivating sustainable management on our farm in Mannheim for generations, maintaining it in the long term and further developing it according to the prevailing climate and the potential possibilities. We implement this philosophy in all our conferences:

No plastic – no waste: we try to use material that can also be used by generations after us. We do this using sustainable, degradable care products to ensure the longevity of our event location and to protect our sewage system and the nature around us.

In our kitchen we use regional produce whenever possible, preferably from our own farm in Mannheim or that of our partners. We try to throw away as little food as possible. We cook so that there is enough, but never leave too much.

We deliberately do without air conditioning and built-in air filters in the historical buildings: all of our rooms have the option of a fresh air supply. Pure nature!

Outside: nothing is healthier and more inspiring than being outside in the fresh air. This uses your own energy and frees your brain therefore making it all the more sustainable. Just put the flip chart outside on the meadow!

We offer you pure nature and agriculture on request. We are also happy to provide you with ideas for sustainable, rural specialised or show events for the side programme of your conference in Mannheim.

Rural and classy: Why you should organise your conference with us

With us you can be completely carefree: hygiene is a matter of course for us, but more than that, we take time for you personally and supply you with everything you need for a successful conference in Mannheim from a single source:

  • You have exclusive use of the venue: so you are certain you have exclusive access
  • Sufficient space and fresh air in the buildings and outdoors

for adequate distancing

  • Sufficient space outside and inside for your configuration requirements:

Each 6x indoor & outdoor can be used in parallel or alternately according to your settings, including your exhibition on the fringe of your conference

  • barrier-free and accessible
  • our team takes personal care of you and your guests
  • top-class catering in accordance with your ideas:
    rustic or feudal.
  • in the middle of the metropolitan area and yet in the countryside with
  • good transport connections including to the airport
  • our own, free (bus) parking spaces directly in front of the event venue
  • Accommodation in the immediate vicinity
  • Your personal planning documents and our advice included —
    with English version
  • A very personal programme — even beyond the borders of Mannheim just for you and your guests

Conferences with us at the
Straßenheimer Hof

If you are looking for nature, the countryside and the luxury of being alone, you have come to the right place. Talk to us about the goals of your conference in Mannheim and we will bring our ideas to bear on how you can use our event location and various interactive conference formats to better achieve them.

Whether 20 or 200 people –
we have the right room

No more sitting in the same conference room for days on end – ever since Corona, if not before, you should be thinking about a varied conference setting when planning your event.
A room is never too big and your conference in Mannheim will only be particularly successful if you change rooms several times during the day. Start the day in the plenary session on the gallery, then divide into different groups throughout the location building or outside in the estate garden. Finally, celebrate your successful day in the old stables with a get-together. Whether with 20 or 200 people!

Interactive conference formats

Walk and Talk

A must in our event location: at least after lunch you can clear your heads alone, in pairs or in groups outside on a tour of the manor, through the manor garden, maybe even around the fields or through Mannheim-Straßenheim. Here your participants will find enough inspiration to sort their thoughts or to have a one-to-one conversation in peace. Plan enough time (at least 30-60 minutes) in your program for this and actively control the whole thing. Then serve coffee – you will be amazed at the effect this has!

Walk and Talk

A must in our event location: at least after lunch you can clear your heads alone, in pairs or in groups outside on a tour of the manor, through the manor garden, maybe even around the fields or through Mannheim-Straßenheim. Here your participants will find enough inspiration to sort their thoughts or to have a one-to-one conversation in peace. Plan enough time (at least 30-60 minutes) in your program for this and actively control the whole thing. Then serve coffee – you will be amazed at the effect this has!

Break Out

The boring, uncontrolled coffee break, during which 80% make phone calls or check emails, is a thing of the past. You can stage a field and forest bathing or meadow treading. Walk barefoot across the Mannheimer field in a way that makes you happy and after this exercise, the coffee goes down all the better. If you don’t like it so rustic, we can show you what grows and lives out there in nature on a tour of the field on a tractor or by bike in just under half an hour. For exercise, we will be happy to set up a table tennis table, a foosball table, football goals or haptically real table game equipment for you in the location. Those who prefer a nap can retreat to a hammock. So that everyone can participate and concentrate on the here and now, we will be happy to set up a Wi-Fi-free zone for you in parts of the venue or everywhere and offer a free mobile phone collection service.

Break Out

The boring, uncontrolled coffee break, during which 80% make phone calls or check emails, is a thing of the past. You can stage a field and forest bathing or meadow treading. Walk barefoot across the Mannheimer field in a way that makes you happy and after this exercise, the coffee goes down all the better. If you don’t like it so rustic, we can show you what grows and lives out there in nature on a tour of the field on a tractor or by bike in just under half an hour. For exercise, we will be happy to set up a table tennis table, a foosball table, football goals or haptically real table game equipment for you in the location. Those who prefer a nap can retreat to a hammock. So that everyone can participate and concentrate on the here and now, we will be happy to set up a Wi-Fi-free zone for you in parts of the venue or everywhere and offer a free mobile phone collection service.

Barcamp, Open Space or Unconference

Barcamps are loosely organised events – also with the help of the internet and social media. One characteristic of the Barcamp method is that there is no predetermined program with permanent speakers. The lectures and discussions are therefore developed by the participants at the beginning of each barcamp. During or after a wonderful breakfast buffet in our location, the participants introduce themselves briefly at the beginning of an opening session in the gallery. Usually with three self-chosen keywords. Afterwards, everyone who would like to give a lecture or contribute to a discussion group presents their topic. It can be a lecture or an open question. The other participants indicate with a show of hands whether they are interested in this proposal. The host of the barcamp then decides whether and in which room to offer this session. They then distribute the sessions over the day and the available rooms, outside if the weather is nice – and near the middle of Mannheim. This session plan is then hung up in clearly visible places. At the end of a barcamp there is often a feedback session or a summary of the day. The concrete results of the individual sessions are usually not presented because the content often spreads by itself among the participants. Some organisers are now recording the sessions as videos and then sharing them in their community. Many organisers also offer a get-together on the evening before or after the barcamp. This gives the participants an even better opportunity to network.
The method is suitable for groups of 20-200 participants in our event venue.

Barcamp, Open Space or Unconference

Barcamps are loosely organised events – also with the help of the internet and social media. One characteristic of the Barcamp method is that there is no predetermined program with permanent speakers. The lectures and discussions are therefore developed by the participants at the beginning of each barcamp. During or after a wonderful breakfast buffet in our location, the participants introduce themselves briefly at the beginning of an opening session in the gallery. Usually with three self-chosen keywords. Afterwards, everyone who would like to give a lecture or contribute to a discussion group presents their topic. It can be a lecture or an open question. The other participants indicate with a show of hands whether they are interested in this proposal. The host of the barcamp then decides whether and in which room to offer this session. They then distribute the sessions over the day and the available rooms, outside if the weather is nice – and near the middle of Mannheim. This session plan is then hung up in clearly visible places. At the end of a barcamp there is often a feedback session or a summary of the day. The concrete results of the individual sessions are usually not presented because the content often spreads by itself among the participants. Some organisers are now recording the sessions as videos and then sharing them in their community. Many organisers also offer a get-together on the evening before or after the barcamp. This gives the participants an even better opportunity to network.
The method is suitable for groups of 20-200 participants in our event venue.

Other conference formats with participation

By deliberately changing rooms, interactive conference formats can also be used in different ways in our venue. For example: After an opening, perhaps a theoretical introduction in the full session, with (also technically supported) impulse lectures and `speed-geeking´ in the Galerie (our old, rustic but beautifully done out granary), you switch to a vital lunch in the inner garden courtyard followed by a walk and talk in small workshop units. Max. 6 groups work indoors, 6 groups outdoors. The whole thing can even rotate as a ‘World Café’. For this purpose, we have already set up the flip chart for you, e.g. during lunch in the manor garden when you will be served coffee. At the end you will come together again in the full session to clarify important questions with experts in a final round. Why not just sit in the garden courtyard with its chairs or on comfortable sofas in the horse stable set up as a living room? The participants will also be happy to relax on straw bales or pallet furniture. After a while, we will be happy to serve you an aperitif and you can end the successful conference in Mannheim with an open-air barbecue and enjoy the work results together with satisfaction.

Conference and another conference - keywords in your program that are guaranteed to attract the attention of your participants:

Fish Bowl

The Fish Bowl also enables more introverted participants to get actively involved. A moderated discussion with experts in the inner circle and the participants in the outer circle makes it possible to briefly contribute with a question or expertise and then just listen again.

Speed Geeking

12 to 100 participants form several small groups of three to six people. Up to fifteen four-minute mini-lectures are then given in parallel. At the end of each talk, the participants have one minute to ask questions. After that, the participants or presenters rotate. After a round has been completed, the process can continue with new topics.
Due to the brevity of the presentations, the information conveyed must be condensed as much as possible. The small, intimate groups also promote dialogue, thus a lot of different information can be conveyed and processed in a short time.

Walt Disney strategy

If you are looking for an everyday solution to a problem or if you want to specify your goals, the Walt Disney method can help you in the creative process. It is used to find ideas and then refine and evaluate them. It is a creativity technique in which you approach a problem from different perspectives and slip into different roles to do so. Optimal group size: 5-6 people with facilitator.

World Café

The basic idea of the “World Café” is to get the participants talking to each other so that they can intensively discuss and reflect on problems or issues in small groups. It begins with a welcome and explanations of the procedure and the role of the hosts. The hosts are the fixed discussion leaders at the respective tables.
In successive discussion rounds of 15-20 minutes, questions or problems are discussed simultaneously at all tables. In each round, the participants write, draw and scribble what they think is most important on the paper. After each round, the participants reshuffle. The hosts remain at their table, welcome the newcomers, summarise what has been discussed so far and get the discourse going again. If necessary, the results are briefly presented by the facilitator at the end. By dividing the groups, the whole thing can confidently take place in a single room (but with enough space) and also outside.

At a glance

Conference formats participants Description
Walk and Talk
1-5 people
Meetings and discussions while walking
Break Out
from 5 people
Lunch break of a different kind
Barcamp, Open Space or Unconference
20-200(0) people
Loosely organized events where the lectures and discussions are co-developed by the participants
Fish Bowl
20-200(0) people
Moderated discussion with experts and participants
Speed Geeking
12-100 people
Mini lectures convey maximum condensed information in rotation mode
Walt Disney Strategy
5-6 people with moderator
Idea generation with subsequent idea refinement and evaluation
World Café
12-200(0) people
Discuss problems or issues intensively in small groups

Things to know for successful meetings

Helpful links

Frontal sound reinforcement has been proven to be the worst kind of sustainable knowledge transfer. Why?

With our partner tagungsplaner.de you will find 10 good reasons for interactive event formats: https://www.tagungsplaner.de/10-gruende-fuer-interaktiv-veranstaltungsformate/

The ÖGUT (Austrian Society for Environment and Technology in Vienna) has a well-structured overview with practical examples of the use of interactive methods for different group sizes and conference goals:

 Participation: Methods