Prepare your stay: information for invited researchers
Since the capacity at Oberwolfach is limited, we ask you to register to the program you were invited to as soon as possible. Research guests in our longer term programs are asked to register by email. To register and to reserve your place in a Workshop, Mini-Workshop, Arbeitsgemeinschaft or Seminar please follow the online registration process. A personal link to the registration platform is sent to you in the invitation email.
Please register not later than the deadline which is 6 months prior to a Workshop, 3 months prior to a Mini-Workshop or Arbeitsgemeinschaft and 1-2 months prior to a Seminar, for the first round of invitations. Otherwise, the invitation cannot be held open and someone else will be invited. In case you will not be able to participate, please inform us as well.
Invitation letter for visa application
Please inform us if you need a signed invitation letter by mail for visa application. This can be stated during the online registration process. We strongly recommend to apply for the visa immediately after receiving and accepting our invitation. In the recent past, there have been cases in which visa appointments have been taking longer than expected.
Accompanying persons
If you wish to come with an accompanying person for an important reason, for example if you need to bring your children with you or if you are a disabled person who needs a personal assistant, please inform us as early as possible. We need to check in advance if our capacity allows to provide a suitable accomodation and/or what else we can do to support you. Please, also read the section on childcare support below.
Special requirements
Please inform us in due time on any special requirements, e.g.
- if you need a wheelchair-accessible room.
- if your are suffering from allergies. We kindly ask you to contact us as soon as possible, at least two weeks prior to your stay. We have a small number of rooms which are suitable for allergy-sufferers and we need to consider this in our planning of room reservations. Kindly note, that our kitchen cannot guarantee that meals are without traces of certain allergenes. In case this could be really dangerous for you, please inform us and we will try to find a solution for you.
- for special diets please look up the available options at the Institute and enter the preferred diet within the online registration process or inform the guest office staff by email (reception@mfo.de) in advance. Kindly note, that it is not possible to offer special diets beyond these options mentioned. Please select the category that best suits your needs.
Length of stay
Kindly note, that in general it is expected that visitors come for the whole meeting to make full use of the capacity of the Institute as required by our funding agencies. In particular, this concerns the Institute’s planning of room reservations and purchase of food. If a shortening of your stay is unavoidable for an important reason, please inform us beforehand.
Arrival day/Check in
Sunday afternoon is the official arrival time and the MFO opens at 4:30 pm. The institute offers free taxi transfer from the train station in Hausach to the Institute on Sunday evening at fixed times. Please check in at the reception during 5-7 pm or via the early/late arrivals list placed opposite the reception. At 6:30 pm we will serve sandwiches in the dining hall.
NEW: Departure day
In connection with the general restriction of our capacity (cf. our news from January 2023), all workshops will end on Friday afternoon. Lectures can be held on Friday morning (9 am - 12:30 am) and optionally after lunch (1:30 pm - 4:00 pm). Friday is also the general departure day, i.e. afternoon or evening. Starting in summer 2023, accommodation at the MFO until Saturday will generally not be possible, unfortunately.
If travel connections demand a departure on Saturday, the MFO will make a strong effort to help finding accommodation at a nearby hotel or at the airport (in particular in cases where travel arrangements have already been made). In this case we need to be informed in due time (as soon as possible, at least one month prior to the workshop). A list of nearby hotels is provided below.
Check out
Check out time of the rooms is Friday 9:30 am and there will be lunch at 12:30 pm, but in general no dinner on Friday. We will organize a number of free taxi transfers from the MFO to the train station in Hausach on Friday afternoon or evening.
Address
Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach
Schwarzwaldstraße 9-11
77709 Oberwolfach
Germany
Arriving by air
The most convenient airport is Frankfurt (FRA). Further possible airports are Zürich (ZRH), Strasbourg (SXB), Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL), Stuttgart (STR), and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (FKB).
Arriving by train
InterCity trains usually stop at Offenburg, in the south-west of Germany, and sometimes even at Hausach. Trains from Offenburg to Hausach or even to Wolfach run quite frequently. Do not mix up Hausach with Haslach. Do not get off the train at Haslach!
The current timetable is available at German Railways (Deutsche Bahn AG). The input "Wolfach" is said to be ambiguous by mistake. Just click on "Search connection" once again without making any changes. These pages contain a ticket service.
Coming from Strasbourg, you may buy a ticket "Europass 24h" valid 24 hours in Strasbourg and Ortenau (so, including Hausach, Wolfach, Oberwolfach) for local trains and busses. The ticket can be purchased at the railway station or at any automaton in bus/tram stations in Strasbourg, see: Europass and Europass-24h. These tickets can also be bought in any bus, at any railway station in Ortenau.
When planning your trip, please take into account that Deutsche Bahn has recently experienced more cancellations and delays. In particular, if you have booked a return flight from Frankfurt in the morning, you should consider leaving Oberwolfach the evening before and staying overnight near the airport.
Important: From 15 July to 14 December 2024 Deutsche Bahn fundamentally overhauls the link between Frankfurt/Main and Mannheim - so called Riedbahn. There will be timetable changes and partly rail replacement services with buses. Please check the information and booking systems of Deutsche Bahn before you travel.
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Taxi
The Institute will offer free taxi transfer from the train station in Hausach to the Institute on Sunday evening at the following fixed times:
| 4:30 pm at Hausach (with stop 4:40 pm at Wolfach train station) |
| 5:30 pm at Hausach (with stop 5:40 pm at Wolfach train station) |
| 6:30 pm at Hausach (with stop 6:40 pm at Wolfach train station) |
The taxis will wait directly in front of the station building in Hausach (or next to the station platform in Wolfach) and will display a sign "MFO".
Further taxis usually run until midnight on Sundays and wait in front of the train station in Hausach. Please note, that unfortunately taxi fares at other times than those listed above cannot be reimbursed. We recommend having some cash with you, since credit cards are often not accepted in our very rural area.
Local taxi companies
| Taxi Heizmann: | +49 (0) 7834 333 |
| Taxi Luke: | +49 (0) 7831 533 |
A standard taxi from the railway station to the Institute costs about 42 EUR from Hausach (12 km) and about 30 EUR from Wolfach (7 km). Large taxis which are able to carry more than 4 persons cost about 57 EUR from Hausach and about 42 EUR from Wolfach.
For the return trip we will organize car pools from Oberwolfach to the train stations in Wolfach and Hausach. For three groups we will also cover the taxi fare. Taxi fares at other times cannot be reimbursed, unfortunately.
Arriving by car
Although you can have your route conveniently planned online, here are some short descriptions for the main directions to Oberwolfach-Walke. If you are in Oberwolfach-Walke, take the direction to Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach. Just before leaving the village Oberwolfach-Walke, turn to the right over a small bridge following the sign "Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut" until you reach the Institute.
From Frankfurt/Karlsruhe/Strasbourg
Take the motorway (Autobahn) A5 to Offenburg. From there, follow the signs for Villingen-Schwenningen (B33) - Hausach - Wolfach - Oberwolfach until you reach Oberwolfach-Walke. Do not leave the A5 motorway at Appenweier as this will lead you through some small backroads through the Black Forrest. Instead, take the next exit at Offenburg.
From Basel
Take the motorway (Autobahn) A5 to Freiburg. Exit at Freiburg-Nord and follow the signs for Waldkirch - Haslach - Hausach - Wolfach - Oberwolfach until you reach Oberwolfach-Walke.
From Munich/Stuttgart
Take the motorway (Autobahn) A81 from Stuttgart direction Singen. Exit at Rottweil/Schramberg and follow the signs for Schramberg - Schiltach - Wolfach - Oberwolfach until you reach Oberwolfach-Walke.
Information for electric car drivers
At the parking lot of the MFO you will find a charging station. The double box with 2 x 11 kW AC can charge two cars simultaneously. Depending on the type of vehicle and the battery size the charging will take 1.5 to 3 hours for a range of 100 km. Please come to the reception to obtain an RFID charging card and afterwards to pay your bill.
Buses
Local timetables including buses and trains can also be searched. To find the bus from Wolfach Station to the Institute you would enter as starting point Wolfach, Stop: Railway Station, and as destination Oberwolfach, Stop: Walke.
Other stops like Stuttgart Airport (i.e. Flughafen) are possible. Due to the infrequency of the local bus service it is advisable to search the long distance and the local bus separately.
Maps
Hotels nearby
If you need another accommodation to bridge the time between your stay at the Institute and
your arrival or your return you might take the following addresses into consideration:
In Oberwolfach-Walke (in walking distance to the MFO):
In Oberwolfach Kirche
In Hausach (close to the train station)
Grants
Depending on the scientific program you are participating in, we are able to offer several grants covering travel expenses. Your eligibility for one of these grants is decided by the MFO, subject to a prior application. Please see the overview on grants for information how you can apply.
Childcare support
Usually, we have a small number of rooms suitable for families with small children, where we can provide a child's bed, for example. In some cases we may need to refer you to other accommodations nearby. Furthermore, the Institute can help with finding and funding child support, if necessary. See the information leaflet for a description of our possibilities. Please fill in the application form and contact us in due time prior to your stay.
Please view our section describing all facilities which are availabe during your stay (i.e. library, technical equipment, printing and scanning, software, working rooms, accomodation, catering and meal times, recreation facilities, offers for families etc.). Please also check the current measures for hygiene and infection prevention at the MFO.
The schedule for the week will be decided and announced by the organizers. Breakfast is from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., lunch from 12:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and dinner from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. There is a break for discussions, hiking and coffee and cake from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Traditionally, on Wednesday afternoon there is an excursion in the Black Forest to a restaurant - sturdy footwear is recommended and you may also want to check our practical hints on protection against ticks and the weather forecast in °C / weather forecast in °F
For answers to further questions please also consider the following sections and documents: