Schönberg was first documentary mentioned in 1219, named "Sconenberge". At that time Schönberg was a farm village with twelve farms, from which eight existed until 1945. But the exclusive rural character was lost in 1327 when the bishops from Ratzeburg relocate their residence to Schönberg and built a well secured water castle at the northern border of the village. The castle has disappeared.

Episcopal servants and manual workers settled so that Schönberg grew soon, not only to a political but also to a business centre in the bishopric Ratzeburg. In 1822 Schönberg got town legitimation and stayed official until 1919. So, the development of that place depended on the landheader's favour.

Schönberg's meaning for the Land Ratzeburg stayed undisputed, even when the region had gone to Mecklenburg after the 30-year-war. since then it had been dependent of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. After getting the official town legitimation and after becoming residence of landvogt the town experienced a economic prime in the middle of the 19th century, when at a population of 2500 people nearly 270 firms of manual workers and other busines men existed, who provided the area with products. After the empire unification in 1871 Schönberg got into the section of the Hansestadt Lübeck, which led to the breakdown of the producing trade.

1934 the departments of Grevesmühlen and Schönberg were put together with the residence of the district department in Schönberg. the town survived World War II without any destruction. In 1949 Schönberg lost the status as residence of the district department which was given to the 20km eastern situated Grevesmühlen. Because of the location near the prohibited area of the westborder of the GDR, the town got in offside.

After 1989 the town aquired new opportunities, especially because of the good geographical location between Lübeck and Schwerin but also because of the direct connection to the Baltic-Sea-Motorway A 20.

Today, Schönberg has a population of 4.500 people.

The old part of town has kept its charm of a typical small town in Mecklenburg. 1994 the town Schönberg was entered into the town sanitation programme of the Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Since then there have been carried out many sanitation measures in the old part of town.