History
Around 784 A.D., the town of Auerbach was mentioned for the first time in the Lorsch codex "Laureshamensis" as "Urbach".
Through the marriage of Hildegard von Henneberg, areas of the Bergstraße passed to Henry II of Katzenelnbogen in 1135, who was ennobled as an earl in the year 1138 by King Konrad III. Auerbach now belonged to the County of Katzenelnbogen. County Katzenelnbogen was sub-divided into the Lower County, located around St. Goar on the Rhine, and the Upper County, located in what is now Southern Hesse, South of the Main.
There was clearly a need to establish a stronghold for securing the possessions of the Southern Katzenelnbogen dynasty, including the duties (tolls) collected at the town of Zwingenberg from travellers using the well-known North-South trading route along the Roman 'mountain road' ('Strada Montana' or 'Bergstrasse' in German). Auerbach Castle was built to address this need, on the strategically important Auerberg (Urberg) hill. It is likely that construction of the current castle began around 1222 by order of earl Diether IV von Katzenelnbogen, at the site of the original castle.
The earliest mention of a castle on Urberg in the historical record appears in 1247 and the first document of the castle itself dates from 1257.
In 1479 the County Katzenelnbogen, including Auerbach Castle, became the possession of the Landgraviate of Hesse.
The castle lost much of its strategic importance during the 16th Century until, by the time of the Thirty Years War, it was no longer in military use.
In 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1679) the castle was conquered and set on fire by an army under French Marshal Turenne, killing the local people who had sought protection within the ruin's walls. The abandoned castle became a ruin over the following years.
In 1820 the North tower of the castle collapsed, after which the Landgraviate of Hesse decided to secure and partially rebuild the ruins.
In 1888 an inn was built in the former Bailey, remaining open all year round.
In the 1950s, the South tower became inaccessible, due to the deterioration of its wooden staircase.
In 1989 building began on a new terraced restaurant, which opened in 1990, further increasing the attractiveness of the castle ruins for visitors.
In 2007, the stairway in the South tower was renewed and reopened to the public.
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