Work on the castle began in the 11th century and it was enlarged in the 13th century to become a Ganerbenburg (a castle shared by several families) with a total of three keeps. During the 30 Years’ War it was already in decline and in 1689 it was looted, set on fire and destroyed. The last of the Schönburgers died

in 1719 and the ruin fell back to the Electorate of Trier. The property changed hands several times before it was acquired and restored in the late 19th century by the German-American banker T. J. Oakley Rhinelander from New York.