The foundation of the village is attributed to the Basel bishop Burkhard von Ferns, who built a castle here around 1100. Of the medieval architecture, the Knights’ Hall with its beamed ceiling resting on late-Romanesque carved pillars is worth mentioning.

The beginnings of Erlach date back to the end of the 11th century. After the turn of the millennium, the Counts of Fenis claimed power in the area. It was Burkhard von Fenis (bishop of Basel from 1072 to 1105) who built Erlach Castle and his brother Kuno (bishop of Lausanne from 1093 to 1103) who donated Erlach Abbey. The Benedictine abbey of Erlach or St. Johannsen soon occupied most of the parishes in the area. Count Rudolf II of Neuchâtel-Nidau (a descendant of the Counts of Fenis) granted Erlach material rights around 1266, i.e. various rights and special provisions distinguishing the town from the village. It is possible that the reason for this was the war that broke out between the Habsburgs and Savoy in 1264 to strengthen the citizenship of the exposed Erlach. In Erlach, the tangible means the first mention of the town and citizenship itself, while the church and the Knights, or Junkers, of Erlach have been mentioned several times since the end of the 12th century. Erlach Castle is one of the oldest in the Canton of Berne. It was built at the end of the 11th century by Count Burkhard von Fenis to protect the road through the upper part of the lake. In the 13th century, the old town was gradually expanded, thus laying the foundation stone of a small town. Not to be missed is the Erlach town hall, which occupies a privileged position and attractively links the upper quarters of the old town. Renovations in the 19th and 20th centuries remained modest, so that a proper restoration was carried out in 1982 with a result faithful to the original.