In 1268, a "castle called Beilstein" was first mentioned in a document. It was owned by Johann von Braunshorn, a feudal lord of the Archbishopric of Cologne. Contrary to the older view that the castle was founded long before the first mention, more recent castle research by Alexander Thon and Stefan Ulrich has shown that the castle was probably only built in the middle of the 13th century, a few decades earlier. After the Braunshorn family died out in 1361 with the death of Gerlach without a male successor, the castle became the property of his grandchildren Kuno and Gerlach von Winneburg in 1363.
The castle survived the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War with occupation by Swedish and Spanish troops largely unscathed. After the Winneburg family died out, the castle became the property of the Lords of Metternich in 1637, from whom the castle still takes its name today. In 1689, the castle was destroyed by French troops in the War of the Palatinate Succession and was not rebuilt. The last owner from the Metternich line was Prince Metternich until the Rhineland was occupied by the French in 1794. After changing hands several times, the castle ruins are now in the hands of the Sprenger-Herzer family (Wikipedia).