These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) regulate the contractual relationship between you and the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, SPSG) in relation to booking guided tours for groups. On concluding the contract, you accept the SPSG’s GTC.

Deviations from these GTC only apply if expressly agreed in text form prior to concluding the contract.

1. Orders and conclusion of contract

Guided tours can be booked with us verbally, in writing, by telephone, fax or email. When placing an order, you are making an offer to conclude a contract with us. The contract shall enter into force on acceptance of the order by the SPSG. On conclusion of the contract or immediately thereafter, you will receive confirmation of your guided tour in text form. Orders are saved by the SPSG after the contract has been concluded. If you, as a consumer, have lost the documentation relating to your order, the SPSG shall send you a copy of your order details on submission of a request to gruppenservice(at)spsg.de.

2. Payment

Payment shall be made before the contractually agreed start of the guided tour at the latest. It can be made via bank transfer, via the SEPA direct debit process or on site in cash or by Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card.

For bank transfers, you bear any fees and charges that your own bank and any other financial institutions involved take from the transfer amount. In the case of a rejected debit (due to there being insufficient funds in your bank account to cover the amount, an unjustified objection by the account holder or incorrect information), you are obliged to pay EUR 8 to cover the costs incurred for the rejected debit. We reserve the right to pursue further claims. You are entitled to prove that lower costs were incurred or no costs at all were incurred as a result of the rejected debit.

If the group price has not been paid in full by the contractually agreed start of the guided tour, the SPSG is no longer obliged to perform and may demand the corresponding cancellation costs from you, unless you have a right to refuse payment.

3. Default on payment

If you are in default on a claim of the SPSG, all existing claims shall become due for immediate payment. The SPSG shall not accept any further orders from you until the default has been resolved. On commencement of the default, the SPSG is entitled to charge reminder costs of EUR 5 as damages for the default, unless you are able to prove that the damages were lower. If you are not a consumer, the SPSG may demand a fixed fee of EUR 40.00 in the event of default.

4. Group size

To protect historical monuments, there is a maximum number of persons per guided tour for each of the palaces. The maximum number of persons cannot be exceeded.

5. Prices

The prices valid when the guided tour starts shall apply. If these are higher than when you concluded the contract, you may withdraw from the contract within 14 days of being notified of the price increase. Withdrawal must be declared in text form. The time of receipt of the declaration of withdrawal by the SPSG determines whether or not this deadline has been met.

6. Changes to services (re-bookings)

The services owed by the SPSG result exclusively from the content of the contract. Requests for changes shall be considered if you notify us up to 11 days before the date of the guided tour in text form, provided that the change is possible. There is no legal entitlement to re-booking. Later re-bookings are only possible if you withdraw from the contract and re-order in accordance with section 8.

If, as a result of a reduction in the number of participants, individual guided tours out of a total of multiple guided tours booked are cancelled less than 11 days before the date of the guided tour, the terms and conditions of withdrawal under section 8 shall also apply to these cancelled guided tours.

7. Changes to services in the event of late arrival

If you arrive later than the contractually agreed start time for the guided tour, your right to the booked tour shall expire.

In the event of late arrival up to one hour, however, we shall offer you an alternative guided tour, if available.

If no alternative tour is available, if you do not accept the alternative tour or if you arrive more than one hour late, we will charge you 95% of the group price. Any expenses saved shall be taken into consideration in this calculation. You are free to prove that the SPSG did not incur any losses or that the losses were significantly lower.

8. Withdrawal from the contract

You may withdraw from the contract at any time before the guided tour starts. You must declare your withdrawal in text form. The time of receipt of the declaration of withdrawal by the SPSG determines whether or not this deadline has been met.

Withdrawal is possible at no cost up to 11 days before the contractually agreed date of the guided tour. In the event of a later withdrawal, we shall charge you fixed withdrawal costs as compensation for expenses incurred as follows:

• 10 days to 3 p.m. on the day before the date of the guided tour: 50% of the group price; and

• after 3 p.m. on the day before the date of the guided tour or in the event of a no-show: 95% of the group price. Any expenses saved shall be taken into consideration in this calculation.

Any expenses saved shall be taken into consideration in this calculation. You are free to prove that the SPSG did not incur any losses or that the losses were significantly lower.

9. No right of withdrawal for consumers and conflict resolution

As a consumer, you have no right of withdrawal as the regulations on the right of withdrawal for distance contracts do not apply to contracts for the delivery of services in connection with leisure activities if the contract provides for performance on a specific date or in a specific period, as per Section 312 g (2) No. 9 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB).

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution. You can find the platform athttp://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

The SPSG is not prepared or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

10. Withdrawal by the SPSG

The SPSG is entitled to withdraw from the contract for good cause. This applies in particular if closure of the park and/or palace facilities is necessary for reasons of traffic safety, to protect monuments or due to a state visit. In such cases, any payments you have made shall be reimbursed. No compensation shall be provided for any losses beyond that.

11. Place of jurisdiction and applicable law

For merchants, legal persons under public law and special funds under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all claims resulting from this contract is agreed as the registered office of the SPSG. The same applies to persons who do not have a general place of jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany or persons who have moved their place of residence or usual domicile outside the Federal Republic of Germany after concluding the contract or whose place of residence or usual domicile is not known when legal action is taken.

If you are a consumer, the law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, with the exception of the provisions of international private law which would lead to the application of a legal system other than German law. This does not apply if special consumer protection regulations are more favourable in your home country (Article 29 of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code [Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch, EGBGB]). If you are an entrepreneur, the law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to this contract within the meaning of sentence 1; the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods is excluded.

Date: September 2022 – Subject to change