I missed Auerbach in my early travels along the Bergstrasse, and in fact I once traveled to Alsbach mistaking the trail initially for Auerbach! Unlike the latter, Auerbach receives more visitors but is well worth seeing.
Auerbach as a location was first mentioned in 784, and by the 1100s the property was obtained by the counts of Katzenelnbogen, who also owned the property of Burg Katz and Rheinfels on the Rhein River. The name originated from the hill on which the castle would be built, being Urberg or Auerberg. The castle was started in the early 1200s, and though expanded some in the 14th Century the original protion remained largely unchanged from its original inception. The Katzenelnbogen family occasionally resided here, but preferred Rheinfels for their primary residence. In 1479, the property was transfered by marriage to the counts of Hessen, since the Katzenelnbogen's male line died out. The castle survived the Thirty Years War, but then came under attack by the French Marshall Turrene in 1674. The castle was infiltrated by a group of Scottish mercenaries in the employ of the French and overwhelmed, with many local people who sought shelter there being slaughtered. The structure was destroyed in the process. Abandoned, the remains slowly decayed. In 1820, the northern tower collapsed from neglect, compelling the local nobility to take efforts to do restoration work. The tower was rebuilt 30 years later, and in the early 1900s the castle came into possession of the state of Hessen.
