The family originated as a cadet branch of the lords of Hemmerich (which today is a district of Bornheim, near Bonn). The head of the family rose to the position of hereditary chamberlain of the Elector of Cologne. This branch of the family drew its name from the village of Metternich in Weilerswist, beginning in the 13th century.
By the 16th century, the family had seven distinct branches:
A second line of the family, founded by Johann Reinhard Freiherr von Metternich, came to rule Chursdorf. This branch of the family converted to the Protestant faith. Johann Reinhard Freiherr von Metternich's son Ernst von Metternich, made a Graf in 1697, was a soldier in the service of Frederick I of Prussia and a member of the privy council of Brandenburg-Prussia. Ernst von Metternich was involved in the diplomacy that saw Frederick I granted the title King in Prussia, in Prussia's acquisition of Neuchâtel, and in the negotiating of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Ernst von Metternich's brother was a member of the privy council of the Principality of Ansbach and in 1726 became Chancellor of Schwarzburg. He was also an author on questions of theosophy and alchemy.
In 1635, the family of the Elector of Trier, Lothar Johann Reinhard von Metternich (1515–1623), acquired the immediateLordship of Beilstein, which made them free from any other overlord than the emperor, and began styling themselves as Freiherren von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein. Their title was upgraded to Graf in 1679. Lothar Johann Reinhard von Metternich's nephews, Karl von Metternich and Emmerich von Metternich, were opposed to the policies of the Elector of Trier Philipp Christoph von Sötern.
The last Count of Metternich-Winneburg was Franz Georg Karl von Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein (1746–1818), who lost the ancestral lordship to France by the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville. In compensation, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, gave him the secularized Ochsenhausen Abbey and raised him to the rank of Fürst in 1803. Their immediate territories were mediatized by Württemberg in 1806.
Richard and Pauline von Metternich had three daughters, but no sons, so upon the death of Richard, the title of Fürst passed to Richard's half-brother, Paul von Metternich (1834–1906). The title then passed to his son, Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (1869–1930). His son, Paul Alfons von Metternich-Winneburg (1917–1992), was the president of ADAC. He was the last male Metternich, and the title of Fürst became extinct with his death. The situation had forced him to sell his family estate Schloss Johannisberg, with its famous winery, to the Oetker family in 1974.
The family name however passed to Franz Albrecht von Metternich-Sándor (1920–2009), whose mother was a descendant of Klemens von Metternich and who had been adopted by his aunt, Clementine von Metternich-Sándor (1870–1963). Franz Albrecht Metternich-Sándor, the son of Victor III, Duke of Ratibor and Prince of Corvey (a branch of the Princely House of Hohenlohe) inherited his father's titles. Franz Albrecht's eldest son is Viktor Metternich-Sándor (born 1964), who has headed the ducal House of Ratibor and Corvey since his father's death.
Johann Reinhard Freiherr von Metternich, Protestant estate administrator, Halberstadt.
Johann Burchard von Metternich († 1637), canon of Trier, Bamberg and Münster, provost of Mainz, Magdeburg and administrator of Halberstadt and provost of St. Bartholomew in Frankfurt am Main
Karl von Metternich († 1635), canon of Trier, Liège, Eichstätt and Augsburg, archdeacon of St Castor, Karden and provost of Aachen Cathedral
Emmerich von Metternich († 1653), canon in Trier, Worms, and Paderborn and provost in Trier
Lothar von Metternich († 1663), Imperial Chamberlain, Privy Councillor, Colonel and Quartermaster General
Wilhelm von Metternich († 1652), of imperial court and Council of war
Heinrich von Metternich zu Brohl († 1654), first minister later soldier, governor of the occupied lower Palatinate of Bavaria and Major General
