Erbach Castle

Erbach Castle stands on a hillside near the town of Erbach an der Donau in Baden-Württemberg. It is a Renaissance patrician castle built on the site of a 12th-century fortress. The keep, added in the 13th century, once guarded a key crossing of the Danube. Gothic spires were added in the late 15th century. In the 16th century the castle was enlarged into a grand palace with two wings and vaulted cellars.

The castle’s history includes damage during the German Peasants’ War in 1525. After the Thirty Years’ War it was restored by Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, a leading Protestant general. Later owners added a pleasure garden and made 18th-century alterations. In 1902 the interior was given a neo-Baroque style.

Inside, visitors find the Renaissance Room, the Small Smoking Room and several drawing rooms named after colours and historical figures. A Baroque chapel opens from the main hall. The courtyard has a hand-drawn well and is surrounded by stables and outbuildings. Part of the castle operates as a restaurant, while the basement houses a theatre. The castle remains in the hands of the barons of Ulm-Erbach, who also run the castle museum.