Auerbach Castle

The castle was originally built by King Charlemagne (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) [1] and rebuilt by Count Diether IV of the Katzenelnbogen dynasty in the second quarter of the 13th century.

A stronghold was needed to provide security for the southern Katzenelnbogen dynasty; this included protection of 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 on the strategically important Auerberg (Urberg) hill to address this need.

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 1672–1679 Franco-Dutch War) the castle was conquered and set afire by an army under French Marshal Turenne, killing local people who had sought protection within its walls.

In 1820 the north tower of the castle collapsed, after which the Landgraviate of Hesse decided to secure (and partially rebuild) the ruins.

In 1989, construction began on a terraced restaurant; it opened the following year, increasing the attraction of the castle ruins to visitors.

On 18 October 1356, a powerful earthquake shook the Rhine rift; the donjon collapsed onto the eastern and southeastern buildings.