Hardeck Castle rises atop a 15-meter-high phyllite cliff that drops steeply into the Muglbach valley. This gives it the character of a fortress rather than a palace. The castle was probably built in the 11th or 12th century, and was first mentioned in 1238. In 1316, Landgrave Ulrich von Leuchtenberg sold it to Waldsassen Monastery, and Abbot Johann III made it his residence. Due to extensive debts, Johann's successor was forced to sell Hardeck, along with other abbey property. After the Thirty Years' War, the badly damaged building returned to Waldsassen Monastery. In 1708, it was restored to its current form as the summer residence of the monastery's lords. Hardeck remained with the monastery until secularization in 1802, when it was nationalized, and the land was sold, along with the farm buildings, the mill, the sawmill, the forester's lodge, and the courthouse. In 1848, Johann Ruderer purchased it and established a dyeworks there, which operated until 1905. In 1873, Ruderer's son-in-law, Johann Söllner, obtained the license to sell alcohol and established an inn, which was still run by his descendants. The castle remains in the possession of Johann Ruderer's descendants to this day.