Castle Sigmaringen and its Architectural Styles

Castle Sigmaringen was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of the Petershausen monastery.
The oldest parts of the castle are hidden beneath the alterations and rebuilding, which took place during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the early settlements on this rock, which is very suitable for defence, will never really be uncovered. Extensive excavations would be necessary to do so. However, this is not possible because of the vast land development. Judging from the numerous roman finds in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep, the so-called "Roman Tower" could be traced back to a roman forerunner.

The preserved remains of the castle (the castle gate, the main building and the keep) date back to the Stauffer times around 1200. The remains were integrated into the later rebuilding. The foundation of the castle is to a large extent identical to its surrounding wall. These remains allow us to get a clear picture of the castle during the 12th century. With defence in mind the castle had tent and pen roofs, several towers and gates and round window openings and friezes in the solid walls and it was already an artistic highlight in the Upper Danube valley at that time.

No remarkable remains of the building were left behind during the 13th and 14th centuries. It was during the 15th century that a new building period of the castle took place under the important Count of Werdenberg. The Werdenbergs expanded the building to the northeast. The only part remaining from this period is the lintel engraved with the year 1498, which is part of the Swedish Tower. A few years later the building was expanded to the west. The third construction period was undertaken by Count Karl II of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1576-1606).

In the years between 1627 and 1630 the castle underwent a substantial transformation from castle to Renaissance chateau, under the supervision of the architect und master builder Hans Alberthal from Dillingen.

Around 1650 the two separate buildings resulting from the Werdenberg period were brought together under one roof by the architect and master builder Michael Beer from Au in the Bregenz Forest. Only minor rebuilding took place during the 18th century.

The ancestral hall was furnished within the castle in 1736 and was renovated in 1879. During the years 1860/1880 changes were made in a neo-Gothic style under the royal architect and master builder Josef Laur. Almost the entire castle was destroyed in the great fire in 1893 and thereafter underwent a thorough redesign. The Aulic Councillor Johannes de Pay and above all the Munich architect Emanuel von Seidl undertook this project and redesigned it in historicism or eclecticism style. The end of this building period was marked by the Portuguese Gallery, which encloses the inner courtyard of the castle on the side, which faces the city.