KORBINIANS KOLLEG LECTURES

“We want to give people food for thought that goes beyond everyday life and initiate a dialogue that will help us move forward as a society.”

Initiator Korbinian Kohler

A special place for dialogue

SPA & RESORT BACHMAIR WEISSACH provides a distinctive setting for precisely this purpose:

a place where ideas are given room to unfold, perspectives come together, and a lecture can evolve into an open dialogue. The aim of the Korbinians Kolleg is to inspire new ways of thinking that reach beyond the concerns of everyday life and to foster an exchange that broadens our understanding of society.

In the winter semester 2025/26, the Kolleg explored the theme “The Natural and the Artificial – Dimensions of Humanity”.

For the first time, the programme was curated and moderated by Prof. Dr. Karsten Fischer, political scientist at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He will continue to accompany the lecture series as its academic curator, carrying forward the tradition of the Korbinians Kolleg while bringing a fresh perspective to the defining questions of our time.

The theme of the Kolleg for the forthcoming winter semester is “The Institutions of Our Society”.

The Institutions of Our Society

Institutions are part of our everyday lives. The anthropologist Arnold Gehlen even argued that human beings depend upon them because, unlike animals, they cannot rely on their instincts alone. In this sense, institutions could be regarded as a kind of second nature for humankind. Today, however, we regard not only formal organisations as institutions, but also the values and norms that help to shape and structure our society. We even speak of prominent public figures – more recently referred to as “celebrities” – as institutions of the entertainment world.

This semester, the Korbinians Kolleg therefore turns its attention to the institutions of our society, inviting distinguished representatives to describe these institutions from an insider’s perspective: What significance does the Church still hold as a social institution – or perhaps hold anew – and what developments may or must it undergo in order to fulfil this role? How does art function as an institution within our society, and what influence can – and should – it exert? What position does academia occupy as an institution of our society, what opportunities does it offer, and what potential threats might arise from it – or, conversely, endanger its freedom? What challenges does politics face as an institution of our society when its democratically elected representatives are, on the one hand, subject to intense criticism while, on the other, confronted with ever greater expectations to provide almost redemptive solutions? What role do the media play as an institution of our society at a time when, through social media, increasing numbers of people are becoming not merely consumers of media but creators themselves – and what challenges does this pose to fundamental freedoms? And what significance should we attribute to the law, which, in the form of the Federal Constitutional Court, enjoys a high degree of public trust, yet is also at risk of being overburdened by expectations that it resolve more social problems and conflicts than it was originally intended to address?

On 16 October 2026, our Korbinians Kolleg returns with lectures by leading academics, politicians, artists, writers, business leaders and philosophers. We warmly invite you to join us for this outstanding series of talks featuring distinguished speakers. The lectures of the winter semester 2026/27 will take place on the following dates, each Friday at 6:30 p.m.:

All Topics & lectures

Here you will find the programme for the Korbinians Kolleg, featuring talks by leading scientists, politicians, artists, writers, business leaders and philosophers.

Wilhelm Vossenkuhl on his friendship with Korbinian Kohler

Surely, we could not have launched Korbinians Kolleg if we had not become friends. The meaning of 'friendship' has become dubious and devalued with social media. Friends on the internet are acquaintances without obligations. Anyone and everyone can become a kind of 'friend' with anyone and everyone around the globe. It's quick, like everything that is superficial and commits to nothing. It has nothing to do with friendship. Aristotle, whom Korbinian and I hold in such high esteem, described friendship as a very special virtue. It is a firm bond that holds people together in such a way that community can develop from it. Friends not only feel affection for each other, they support each other without taking advantage. It is particularly difficult to understand this idea in our time, when communication is fuelled by the pursuit of advantage and profit. Friendship just for its own sake, without advantages, enriches everyone who participates in it. This is how mutual trust is built. Friends can rely on each other. Friends stand up for each other, help each other without being asked, forgive each other's mistakes and stupidities, take responsibility for each other.

People look for a peaceful and calm experience in hotels, to recover from everyday life, to find a relief from stress and the constant rush. Rarely is the need for rest only of a physical nature. The centre of restlessness is mostly in the mind and what is going on it, the constant churning of thoughts accumulating into worry. Calmness of mind can be achieved in yoga, meditation and sport, but also in concentrated reflection and contemplation sparking a reorientation, a readjustment of thinking. Ideal is a combination of both, the physical quieting and the mental focus on something new, something different. The mental powers, like the physical ones, can become stronger with activity, in active contemplation.

Korbinian Kohler told me during the winter semester 2015/16, when we met at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich in a seminar on practical philosophy, that he would like to offer something in his hotel that serves a person holistically, not only the physical well-being, but also the mental well-being. His question was how he could introduce philosophy, something like the philosophy of Aristotle, in his hotel. Korbinian was particularly enthusiastic about Aristotle's doctrine of virtue. We thought about it together and a plan developed: Korbinians Kolleg on questions of our current time. It soon became an event of interest not only for the guests of the hotel, but for the people of Tegernsee. Renowned academics talk about current issues, that are on everybody’s mind, that preoccupy our thinking, that we sometimes feel overwhelmed by without competent explanation and an orientation. It turned out that the guests did not only want to listen, they also want to have a discussion. That is good, because mental powers are strengthened much more by active participation than by passive listening. It is amazing how lively and enriching the discussions are in every Korbinians Kolleg.

At the centre of every friendship there is great calm, the peace and certainty that one can rely on the other at all times. This calmness suits Korbinians Kolleg perfectly, is the centre around which the event can evolve. The Kolleg, which is always a winter semester, offers something from which the hotel draws no advantage, on the contrary. The guests are invited. They do not pay to attend. Of course, this can be interpreted as a particularly clever advertisement. But that would certainly be a misunderstanding, the majority of the Kolleg’s attendees live in the region and not in the hotel. They go home after the event. Some travel from far, enjoy the hotel's exquisite cuisine and then stay overnight.

Korbinians Kolleg represents an exceptional, time-critical hotel concept: the hotel as a location to find peace by learning to live in the present again. Nothing is more challenging for us humans today than to be present in the present. We tend to get lost in thoughts about tomorrow, about what is to come. We are driven, wondering and worrying about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. We try to be magicians of the future, knowing full well that these incantations won’t succeed. We must learn to be present in the present, to focus on the now. Goethe expressed this contemplation in his tragedy "Faust" with the infamous verses: "If ever I to the moment shall say: Beautiful moment, do not pass away!Then you may forge your chains to bind me, then I will put my life behind me." Goethe wrote these verses foreseeing the challenges of the industrial age, the great restlessness of "ever onwards", "ever faster" coming, the fate of modernity. "Faust" is a tragic figure who is driven by acceleration and perishes because of it - at the end of "Faust II".

Learning to live in the present is a practice for mental recovery. It can begin at the Hotel Bachmair Weissach, by participating in Korbinians Kolleg.

WILHELM VOSSENKUHL

Get in touch

Our Event Team is happy to answer your questions and takes care of your requests by e-mail event(at)bachmair-weissach.com or by phone +49 (0) 8022/278-566.