Among other things, archaeological barrows attest to the fact that the area surrounding the castle was populated in early historical times.

While local historians held the view that the castle had been erected by Theoderich I, Count of Are, (who died in 1132) as a refuge for the ruling court of Adenau, nowadays his son Ulrich von Are, the self-proclaimed Count of Nürburg, is considered to be the person responsible for commissioning the building of the castle, even though there is no source material to back this theory.

The Nürburg is situated 20 km (12 miles) south of Castle Are, where the Counts of Are belonged to a family circle whose members can be traced back to the 9th century.

There is a document originating from 1166 in which Are and Nürburg Castles are mentioned within the context of rights which the Archbishop of Cologne granted to Count Ulrich and his family.

In 1607, funds were raised by the local archiepiscopal commission, and restoration work carried out in 1612, where 77 windows were installed to make the castle more livable.

However, that same year, a severe storm tore the chimneys and roofs off some of the buildings leaving the castle in a nearly ruined state.

Despite the crumbling walls, the castle was still seen an important military site due to its high position and relative ease of defense.

From this point, the castle was abandoned and left to decay, as farmers in the area continued to remove stones from the site for use as local building material.

A stone staircase was built into the tower, with the uppermost vault being reconstructed in order to provide views over the entire High Eifel.

As money poured into Nürburg for repair and expansion projects to the Nürburgring, extensive work was again carried out on the castle.

With regards to the racetrack, due to the Nordschleife's varied terrain and elevation, weather may be completely different on either end of the track.

Contrasting that, Nürburg has cooler weather year-round due to the higher elevation of the Eifel Mountains than the Rhine Valley.