By the end of the 14th century, the name "Etzel castle" was used for the remains of the Roman fort, which had been built to protect the Neckar-Odenwald border of the Roman Empire.
Samooklicani "Stauferstadt" je dosegel status imperialnega mesta leta 1268, in ga imel do leta 1803, ko je bil z mediatizacijo prenesen v Württemberg.