It was also considered a state-approved tourist resort (German: Fremdenverkehrsort)[3] before the title was dropped in Rhineland Palatinate in 2016[4] and all communities awarded the designation were barred from its use in 2020.

The district area, which is 91% forested,[3] is home to a number of notable tourist attractions, such as the Birkwieserhof restaurant, hiking trails on the Kupenberg, and the hamlet of Wieslauterhof.

Merzalben was first mentioned in 1237 in a document between the brothers Friedrich III and Emich IV of Leiningen as part of the division of goods that awarded the "Castrum Grebinstein" with the villages "Merichisalbin", "Rothalbin" and "Eiswilre".

Based on the agreements made at the Congress of Vienna, the area first became part of Austria in June 1815 and then ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1816 on the basis of a state treaty.

Under the Bavarian administration, Merzalben belonged to the Land Commissariat of Pirmasens in the Circle of the Rhine (German: Rheinkreis) from 1817, which was subsequently converted into a district office.

After World War II, the municipality of Merzalben became part of the Regierungsberzirk of Palatinate in the then newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate within the French occupation zone.

The core zone headwaters of the Wieslauter in the Palatinate Forest Nature Park (German: Naturpark Pfälzerwald), which span roughly 2,400-hectare (9.27 sq mi), are partly located within the Merzalben area.

The local nickname for the residents of Merzalben was once "Neecher",[11] from the Palatinate dialect for "Negro"; this supposedly originates from the words of a pastor named Richard Frank: "You want to be Christians?

"[12] Since 2017, the so-called night parade (German: Nachtumzug) has taken place every year on Shrove Tuesday (German: Fasching or Fastnacht), organized by local carnival club, "Närrische Neecher Merzalben", meaning "Foolish Negros of Merzalben", which derived its name from the local nickname "Neecher".

"Recently, when the Black Lives Matter movement picked up speed, it was clear that this name couldn't go any further,"[13] said club chairwoman Sylvia Teuscher in an interview with SWR.

The municipality was the seat of Raiffeisenkasse Merzalben eGmbH, which later merged into VR-Bank Südwestpfalz Pirmasens-Zweibrücken in 1962 and several subsequent mergers.State road 496 runs through the town.

On the outskirts of the village is the Gräfensteinhütte, a hut or refuge managed by Merzalben's local Palatine Forest Club (German: Pfälzerwald-Verein).