Its builder was Count Hermann III of Virneburg, who ironically built it on the territory of his brother, Philip, following a partition agreement.

The resulting fraternal feud was subsequently settled later, however, in a legal treaty and Philip relinquished his rights over the region to his brother.

Its small size, in comparison with the Löwen (lion) gave rise to its local nickname, the Rech (deer).

At the behest of the Archbishop of Cologne, the two parties reached an agreement to the effect that Henry II would turn the Monreal castle into a fief of Trier after the death of his father, Robert III of Virneburg.

Under Robert IV of Virneburg, who was the lord of Monreal between 1384 and 1445, the estate was further developed and the castle was used several times as a dower house of the comital family in the 14th and 15th centuries.

When the line of the House of Virneburg died out with the death of Count Cuno in 1545, Henry of Leiningen succeeded him as the Lehnsmann or vassal.