Burg Eberbach

Burg Eberbach stands on a rocky spur where the Itter valley meets the Neckar, about 160 metres above the river. Three separate castles—Vorderburg, Mittelburg and Hinterburg—once crowned this narrow ridge, each built in a different century. The oldest, the Vorderburg, began as a 12th-century stronghold with a massive keep and deep cistern. The Mittelburg followed around 1200 with a tall bergfried and a divided palas. The Hinterburg, the youngest, still shows its rectangular outline and outer ditches.

The site is worth visiting for its clear layers of medieval power. Count Konrad of Eberbach started the complex in the 1120s as his family seat. King Henry VII took it over in 1227, and the pfalzgrafen later used it as an administrative centre. After a 15th-century dismantling, archaeologists in 1908–09 and 1959–63 exposed the ruins and rebuilt parts for study. Mark Twain, passing on the Neckar, called the view ‘spectacular’ and heard local tales of dragons.

Visitors walk past the Vorderburg’s ruined keep with its two arched entrances and the 3.5-metre cistern. The Mittelburg’s bergfried rises on 3-metre-thick walls, reached by a ladder, while its palas still shows three Romanesque arcades. The Hinterburg’s remains lie beyond another ditch, hinting at its once complete courtyard. From the ridge there are wide views over Eberbach and the winding Neckar valley below.