From 1315 it was built by Archbishop Balduin von Trier to secure Kurtrier rule. The castle was primarily directed against the Counts of Sponheim. The counts were rival territorial lords of Trier in this area. In 1332, Baldwin was granted city privileges for a settlement near Baldenau by Emperor Ludwig; Ultimately, however, such a foundation never came about. The castle gave its name to the Kurtrierische Amt Baldenau, which included fifteen surrounding towns. In the 15th century, Rulmann von Partenheim and Clas von Nattenheim, two officials, have survived. Also in the 15th century, the castle and office were pledged to nobles, an indication of the small importance of the castle at that time.
After being damaged in the Thirty Years' War, it was repaired in 1649, but was finally permanently destroyed by French troops under Louis XIV in the War of the Palatinate Succession in 1689. The ruin was secured in 1982. In the same and the following year, the ruin served as the backdrop for the first part of Edgar Reitz's home trilogy.