The hill on which the castle is situated was already colonised in celtic and roman times. It was acquired in 1198 by Count Heinrich I of Zweibrücken from the monastery Hornbach. Heinrich and his successors progressively built the castle on the mountain top, delegating the administration to so-called Burgmannen. There were very quickly conflicts with the neighbouring dukes of Lothringen. In 1269 Duke Friedrich II of Lothringen granted Count Heinrich II of Zweibrücken half of Lemberg as fief, this led to the development of a common sovereignty between Lothringen and Zweibrücken.
After the death of Heinrich in 1282 his sons, Walram and Eberhard, shared the count’s land. Eberhard received Lemberg Castle and several large estates. He also acquired the sovereignty of Bitche in 1297 and took the title of the Count of Zweibrücken, Lord of Bitche.
Following Eberhard there are many other important sovereigns particularly the brothers Hanemann I. and Simon Wecker and Hanemann II and Friedrich I. In 1476, after the death of Friedrich I. the lands of Zweibrücken-Bitche were shared between the count’s four sons.
Lemberg went to Friedrich II and after his death in 1500 this property passed to his nephew Reinhard who was then the only sovereign. Under Count Jakob I., who in 1536 married Katharina of Hohenstein in Lemberg, the castle was renovated into a renaissance palace. The newly renovated castle is known to have been his primary residence from at least 1541. After the death of Count Jakob I. in 1570 the castle was given to Philipp V. of Hanau-Lichtenberg.
Inheritance and religious quarrels between Hanau-Lichtenberg, Lothringen, and the counts of Leiningen-Westerburg led in 1572 to the occupation of the castle by the troops of Duke Karl III. of Lothringen. When they withdrew in 1604/6 the castle was in such a bad condition that extensive restoration work was necessary.
Lemberg was also occupied during the 30 Year War. Between 1634 and 1635 imperial soldiers stayed in the fortress. In 1636 it was damaged by roaming cavalry units. In 1689, after the end of the war, the partially repaired castle was destroyed by French soldiers under the command of General Montclar during the Pfälzer Succession War.
Since the 17th century the inhabitants of the surrounding villages used the castle as a source of building materials. In 1646 for example they took, with official permission, construction materials for the building of the new Lemberg church. Due to recent archeological excavations parts of the lower castle and the weird well construction have been uncovered.
