Schloss Aubach

Schloss Aubach is a Baroque palace in Lauf, a village in the Ortenau district of south-western Germany. It stands east of the Erlenbad–Lauf road, its plain two-storey plaster walls topped by a mansard roof. Built around 1720–30, the main block was enlarged in 1835–40 with a Gothic-Revival wing. A farm building beside it was rebuilt in 1893. The Gothic-Revival wing was removed in 1972. The palace is chiefly remembered for its last private owners. Georg von Neufville lived there with his family until 1941. Between 1986 and 2009 the television presenter Dieter Thomas Heck and his wife Ragnhild made the house their home. The building therefore links two centuries of regional history. Inside the remaining Baroque core visitors find simple, high-ceilinged rooms arranged around a central staircase. The stripped plaster surfaces show the original proportions of the 18th-century interiors. Outside, the farm courtyard and surrounding meadows give a quiet setting for walks. The roadside position offers easy access while the surrounding trees soften the view of modern Lauf.