Saarburg Castle was one of the first and most impressive castles (Höhenburgen) in the West, built by Graf Siegfried von Luxemburg in 964. It was damaged in 1431 by troops of Ulrich von Manderscheid. Johann II von Baden rebuilt the castle later. It was conquered several times in the wars of 17th-early 18th century and finally left to decay in 1734.
The castle hill is surrounded by high fortified walls. With a depth of 60 metres, the fortress well almost reached down to the river bed of the Saar. The upper part of the tower, which offers a wonderful view of the Saar valley and the pilgrimage church of St. Mary in the Beurig district.
Linderhof is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.
Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867-1868 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. In 1868 he was already making his first plans for Linderhof. However, neither the palace modelled on Versailles that was to be sited on the floor of the valley nor the large Byzantine palace envisaged by Ludwig II were ever built.
Instead, the new building developed around the forester's house belonging to his father Maximilian II, which was located in the open space in front of the present palace and was used by the king when crown prince on hunting expeditions with his father.