Schönburg Castle was first mentioned in history between the years 911 and 1166.  Until the 17th century the castle had a very changeable and martial history with many tribe and family fights.

From the 12th century, the Dukes of Schönburg ruled over the town of Oberwesel and had also the right to levy customs on the Rhine river.

The Schönburg was one of the very few castles in which after a dukes death, all of the sons became heirs to the castle and not only the oldest one which usually was the rule.

Therefore it happened that at the height of its power in the 14th century the  Schönburg accomodated up to 250 persons of 24 different families at the same time.

The most famous of all of the Schönburgs is Friedrich von Schönburg - a much-feared man known as “Marshall Schomberg” - who in the 17th century served as a colonel and as a general under His Majesty the King of France and Navarra in France and Portugal and who later also fought for the Prussians and for William Prince of Orange in England.

The Schönburg main lineage became extinct with the death of their last heir, the son of Friedrich of Schönburg.

The castle was burned down in 1689 by French soldiers during the Palatinate heritage war.  Schönburg castle remained destroyed and in ruins for 2 centuries until an American of German ancestry, Mr. Rhinelander, bought the castle from the town of Oberwesel in the  late 19th century and invested two million Gold Marks into the restoration until 1914.

The town council of Oberwesel acquired the castle back from Rhinelander’s son in 1950.

Since 1957 the Hüttl family live at the castle on a long-term lease (emphyteusi) and established a hotel and restaurant in it, now already in the second generation.