
After two and a half months, the hanns seidel foundation was able to open its doors on 30 june. May open again for seminar participants. Since then, there is again continuous activity in the conference center. The only days when the doors of banz monastery are normally closed are the days between christmas and new year’s day. "Over the calendar year we pay between 35000 and 40000 participant days, there are over 700 events per year", reports michael moslein, director of the hanns-seidel foundation. Seminars were held seven days a week – including weekends and holidays.
With the corona lockdown in mid march, the seminars could be held from one day to the next only online. "The building had to be shut down completely – we then immediately began to implement an extremely complex health and safety concept, in close cooperation with the relevant authorities", moslein remembers the days after the disaster was declared in bavaria.
Fewer guests on site
Before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, 150 people could be trained at the same time in ten different conference rooms at banz monastery. Now, the capacity limit is 60 people. "We can not accommodate more than 15 participants divided into four seminars. We want to maintain the regulation until the upcoming summer vacations", says moslein. A reduced number of participants, however, was better than a continued discontinuation of operations. "We are, after all, also a commercial enterprise, the house costs money and has to be maintained. Fearing for their jobs, the closure was also a psychological challenge for the employees."