Sigmaringen Castle Sigmaringen Castle ( German : " Schloss Sigmaringen " ) was the princely castle and seat of government for the Princes of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen . Situated in the Swabian " Alb " region of Baden - Württemberg , Germany , this castle dominates the skyline of the town of Sigmaringen . The castle was rebuilt following a fire in 1893 , and only the towers of the earlier medieval fortress remain . Schloss Sigmaringen was a family estate of the Swabian Hohenzollern family , a cadet branch of the Hohenzollern family , from which the German Emperors and kings of Prussia came . During the closing months of World War II , Schloss Sigmaringen was briefly the seat of the Vichy French Government after France was liberated by the Allies . The castle and museums may be visited throughout the year , but only on guided tours . Location . Sigmaringen is located on the southern edge of the Swabian " Alb " , a plateau region in southern Baden - Württemberg . The Hohenzollern castle was built below the narrow Danube river valley in the modern Upper Danube Nature Park ( German : " Naturpark Obere Donau " ) . The castle rises above the Danube on a towering chalk projection that is a spur of the white Jura Mountains formation . The hill is known simply as the " Schlossberg " or Castle Rock . The " Schlossberg " is about long and up to above the river . On this free - standing towering rock , the princely Hohenzollern castle is the largest of the Danube valley castles . The sheer cliffs and steep sides of the tower made it a natural site for a well protected medieval castle . History . Construction of the first castle . The first castle at Sigmaringen appeared during the end of the Early Middle Ages , during the early 11th century . The castle was first mentioned in 1077 following the unsuccessful siege of " Burg Sigmaringen " by Rudolf of Rheinfelden in his fight against the King of Germany , Henry IV . In 1083 a pair of brothers , Ludwig and Manegold von Sigmaringen , are listed as witnesses on a document for the Königseggwald abbey . Ludwig von Sigmaringen was married to Richinza von Spitzenberg , daughter of Berthold I . von Zähringen . At the end of the 11th century he built a castle on the " Spitzenberg " at Kuchen , Germany . The castle and the surrounding land and villages were part of the inheritance of Richinza . From their marriage Richinza and Ludwig had four children ; Mathilde von Spitzenberg , the wife of Aribo von Wertingen , the clergyman Ulrich von Sigmaringen , Ludwig II von Sigmaringen - Spitzenberg and Manegold von Sigmaringen - Spitzenberg . The three brothers , Ulrich , Ludwig and Mangold von Sigmaringen are named as the founders of the 11th - century St . George ' s Abbey in the Black Forest . From 1133 until 1170 Rudolf von Sigmaringen - Spitzenberg , the son of Ludwig II , ruled at Sigmaringen . In 1183 Graf Ludwig von Sigmaringen - Spitzenberg - Helfenstein , the son of Rudolf , is mentioned at the castle . In 1147 Ludwig as well as his father Rudolf and brother Ulrich II von Sigmaringen - Spitzenberg are mentioned in a document of Walter von Dillingen , Prince - Bishop of Augsburg , as lords of Spitzenberg - Sigmaringen . Under the Helfenstein family , until 1290 . Under the Helfenstein family , the castle was renovated around 1200 . The castle was totally rebuilt with " buckel " stones ( squared - off stones with a rounded outer surface ) . Between 1209 and 1258 the castle was occupied by Graf Gottried von Sigmaringen - Helfenstein and his son Graf Gebhard von Sigmaringen - Pietengau . In 1258 the cousin of Graf Gebhard , Graf Ulrich II . von Helfenstein , became the owner of Burg Sigmaringen . Later , Ulrich ' s daughter Agnes married Graf Ulrich I . von Montfort . Following the marriage in 1272 , Sigmaringen was owned by the Counts of Montfort . Then , in 1290 Graf Hugo V . von Montfort , son of Ulrich I , sold the castle and the city of Sigmaringen to Albrecht and Rudolf von Habsburg . Before 1325 Duke Luipold von Habsburg sold the castle and the county of Sigmaringen to the Count of Württemberg . Werdenberg family 1399 – 1534 . Finally in 1399 Count Eberhard von Württemberg granted the castle and county of Sigmaringensein as well as the county of Veringen in Margraviate of Austria , to his uncle and liegeman Count Eberhard III . von Werdenberg ( 1387 – 1416 ) as a fief . His son Count Johann IV . von Werdenberg ( 1416 – 1465 ) and his wife Countess von Württemberg ( disinherited by the House of Württemberg ) , in 1459 inherited the castle and county of Sigmaringen . To protect his land , in the following year he declared Sigmaringen an Austrian fief . From 1460 until 1500 the Counts von Werdenberg renovated the " Burg " ( a military fortress ) into " Schloss Sigmaringen " ( a fortified residence ) , and expanded it to the dimensions which remain today . Toward the end of the 15th century they built two long , angular buildings in the north east . Then , in the early 16th century another wing was added to the west . The two round towers that flank the entrance to the castle also date from this time Hugo IX . zu Sigmaringen ( 1459 – 1508 ) , son of Johann IV . , died without any male offspring . His sister Anna von Werdenberg married Count Friedrich von Fürstenberg in 1516 . In 1521 Christoph ( 1494 – 1534 ) , together with his brothers Johann VI . and Felix I . von Werdenberg , was granted the fief of Sigmaringen from Emperor Charles V . Count Christoph married , after his first marriage to Eleonore Gonzaga remained childless , Johanna von Bröseln , widow of the Count Eitel Friedrich III . von Hohenzollern in 1526 . All of his children died , except for his daughter Anna , who married Friedrichs II . von Fürstenberg . According to the Zimmern Chronicle in 1530 , as Count Felix I was in the bath house with Leonora Werdenberg ( the illegitimate daughter of Hugo IX and the mistress of Felix and Christoph von Werdenberg ) the bath house fire was allowed to spread , leading to a fire that expanded throughout the outbuildings around the castle . In 1534 , following the death of the last male member of the Werdenberger family , Count Friedrich von Fürstenberg demanded the Werdenberger lands . However , King Ferdinand I granted the fief of Sigmaringen and Veringen , in 1535 , to Charles I of Hohenzollern ( 1516 – 1576 ) , the son from Johanna von Bröseln ' s first marriage with Friedrich III . von Hohenzollern . The Hohenzollern and Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen families , 1535 – 1850 . Charles I was the first Hohenzollern to rule in Sigmaringen . In 1539 there was another fire that damaged the castle . A year later , in 1540 , Sigmaringen and Veringen were transferred to the House of Hohenzollern as part of the " Pfullendorf agreement " ( German : " Pfullendorfer Vertrag " ) . Count Charles I . von Hohenzollern occupied the castle . Charles II . von Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen ( 1547 – 1606 ) , son of Charles I was the count of Sigmaringen from 1576 until 1606 . He was also the founder of the Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen line of the Hohenzollern family . Under Charles II the castle was renovated . Between 1576 and 1606 the gatehouse was expanded to cover the entrance to the castle and a new church was built near the castle . In 1576 the House of Hohenzollern split into four lines , " Hohenzollern " ( died out in 1602 ) , " Hohenzollern - Haigerloch " ( absorbed by Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen after 1630 ) , " Hohenzollern - Hechingen " ( died out in 1869 ) und " Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen " . Sigmaringen was the main residence of the family of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen from 1576 until 1850 . Johann von Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen ( 1578 – 1638 ) , the son of Charles II was the count of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen from 1606 until 1623 . Then in 1623 the family was promoted from Count ( German : " Graf " ) to the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire ( German : " Reichsfürst " ) . Johann then became the first prince ( German : " Fürst " ) of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen . During the Thirty Years ' War , the castle was besieged by Swedish troops in 1632 , and retaken by the Imperial troops in the following year . During the attack by Imperial troops under General Horn , the eastern section of the castle was destroyed by fire . Before the siege , Johann fled to Bavaria . He would remain in Bavaria until his death , at age 60 , in 1638 . Johann ' s son , Meinrad I ( 1605 – 1681 ) , was the prince from 1638 until 1681 . Meinrad had the burned eastern wing rebuilt during 1658 and 1659 by the master builder Michael Beer . Both eastern buildings , built when the Werdenberg family owned Sigmaringen , were combined under a single roof . Maximilian ( 1636 – 1689 ) , son of Meinrad I , was prince of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen from 1681 until 1689 . His son Meinrad II ( 1673 – 1715 ) ruled from 1689 until 1715 . From 1698 on he ruled in Haigerloch . His son , Josef ( 1702 – 1769 ) ruled from 1715 until 1769 . In 1724 Josef ordered the construction of the " Marstalles " or royal stables . In addition to this construction , in 1736 he had the castle modernized and the Knights ' Hall ( German : " Rittersaal " ) was built . In 1867 it was refurnished and renamed the Ancestors ' Hall ( German : " Ahnensaal " ) . His son , Karl Friedrich reigned from 1769 until 1785 . Karl Friedrich ' s son , Anton Aloys ( 1762 – 1831 ) , reigned from 1785 until 1831 . Between 1815 and 1817 he had the granary rebuilt as a five - story knights ' building , which became known as Wilhelm ' s building ( German : " Wilhelmsbau " ) . Prince Karl ( 1785 – 1853 ) , the son of Anton Aloys , ruled from 1831 until 1848 . In 1833 Karl called a constitutional assembly ( German : " Landtag " ) together and created a constitutional charter that would be the law in his lands . He founded a hospital for his subjects , and had the " Ständehaus " built on the modern " Leopoldsplatz " in Sigmaringen ( today owned by the Hohenzollerischen Landesbank ) . Karl also removed the burden of serf dom and various other medieval laws . During the German Revolution of 1848 Karl abdicated in favor of his son , Karl Anton , on 27 August 1848 . In recognition of Karl ' s efforts to improve the lives of his subjects , in 1857 the hospital that he built was renamed the " Fürst - Carl - Landesspital " ( Prince Carl Regional Hospital ) . In 1869 Karl Anton , following the death of Konstantin the last prince of Hohenzollern - Hechingen , annexed the lands of Hohenzollern - Hechingen and became the prince of Hohenzollern . A destination for the rich and powerful . Karl Anton built the castle into a meeting point for the nobility of Europe . Portions of the castle were rebuilt and decorated to make Schloss Sigmaringen into a destination of the rich and powerful . In 1855 the walls of the upper story were removed to create the Old German Hall ( German : " Altdeutschen Saal " ) . In 1864 he modified the arches above the southern curtain wall to form the Weapons Room ( German : " Waffenhalle " ) . From 1862 until 1867 he built the new Art Gallery ( German : " Kunsthalle " ) , which is today a museum . As a member of the German high nobility , Karl Anton needed a centerpiece of his elegant castle . To create this , in 1872 he had the Parisian architect Lambert rebuild the dining hall into the French Hall ( German : Französische Saal ) . In 1877 he expanded the central keep , removed the old roof and topped the keep with a new pointed roof . In the following year , the Ancestors ' Hall ( German : " Ahnensaal " ) was rebuilt . Since 1871 the castle has been open for guided tours . These tours provide a history of the castle as well as the House of Hohenzollern . Leopold ( 1835 – 1905 ) , the son of Karl Anton , was offered the Spanish crown after the Spanish Revolution of 1868 overthrew Queen Isabella II . He was supported by the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck , but opposed by the French emperor Napoleon III . Leopold was forced to decline the offer , but the extra demands made by the French government and the sending of the Ems Telegram resulted in the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 – 71 , which led to the fall of emperor Napoleon III and the setting up of the French Third Republic . Following the war and the death of Karl Anton , he ruled as prince of the Houses of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern from 1885 until his death in 1905 . In 1893 the eastern wing burned and was nearly totally destroyed . Starting in 1895 , the construction manager Johannes de Pay and the Munich architect Emanuel von Seidl rebuilt the destroyed section . In 1899 and 1906 , other sections of the castle were redone in the eclectic style ( a combination of Romanesque , Gothic and mostly Renaissance styles ) that was common at the time . The Portuguese Gallery ( German : " Portugiesische Galerie " ) was built during this reconstruction . The construction continued under Leopold ' s son , Wilhelm ( 1864 – 1927 ) who was prince of the Houses of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern from 1905 until 1927 . In 1901 , the pointed spire on the keep was destroyed . It was replaced with an octagonal pointed neo - gothic tower made from tuff stone . Leopold ' s son Friedrich ( 1891 – 1965 ) was the prince of the house from 1927 until 1965 . He opened the carriage house in the lower story of the museum as an early history museum . Seat of the Vichy Government . Following the Allied invasion of France , the French Vichy Regime was moved from France into Schloss Sigmaringen . The princely family was forced by the Gestapo out of the castle and moved to Schloss Wilflingen . The French authors Louis - Ferdinand Céline and Lucien Rebatet , who had written political and anti - semitic works , feared for their safety and fled to Sigmaringen with the Vichy government . Céline ' s 1957 novel " D ' un château l ' autre " , ( English : From one castle to another ) describes the end of the war and the fall of Sigmaringen on 22 April 1945 . The book was made into a German movie in 2006 , through the German media companies ZDF and Arte , called " Die Finsternis " ( English : The Darkness ) . The modern castle . During the 1970s , following a crisis in the steel industry , Frederick William had to sell some of the family property to support the " Hüttenwerkes Laucherthal " ( English : Laucherthal Steel Works ) . Since the death of his wife Margarita in 1996 Prince Frederick William lived on a country estate in Jagdschloss Josefslust between Krauchenwies and Sigmaringen . His son and heir Karl Friedrich lives in the Sommerschloss in Krauchenwies . The castle is occupied by the management for the business interests of the prince as well as the museum . Castle Site . The modern Schloss Sigmaringen owes its current size and appearance to three construction periods . Fortress and protective walls . The first castle at Sigmaringen dated from around 1200 and was built from " Buckel Stones " ( squared off stones with a rounded outer surface ) . The original castle was fully absorbed into the later constructions . Built on the eastern side of the rock hill , it was one of the best protected castles in Germany during the Middle Ages . The original castle was with the central keep being in size . The flat and therefore threatened west side was protected by a moat and a high keep . The square western keep was in size . The foundations of the castle were between thick . The , originally , four story keep walls taper slightly to between thick . The walls are built in the " buckel stone " style out of a mixture of limestone and Nagelfluh , a conglomerate rock found in the area . The keep could be entered through a nearly high entrance on the courtyard side . To the north of the keep , next to the wall tower , is the castle gate with a gatehouse . The wide and high castle gate was built as a semi - circular entrance with rounded stones and soldiers carved as capitals on the columns . Currently , the castle gate is located at the upper end of the steeply inclined entry hall . The flat top of the hill was surrounded by a curtain wall . From the original fortified house with its blind arch es and enclosed kitchen , located on the highest point of the cliff , the arches and portions of the wall are still visible in the outer wall . On the southside , about below the keep , a wide inner courtyard was located . Today this area is occupied by the Hall of Weapons . On the east side near the mill is a small wide opening in the wall , which was most likely a lower castle gate . The high outer curtain wall is the foundation of the modern castle building . In the north inner wall of the keep is a small opening , which likely was a hidden passage leading to the Danube . Sights . The castle rooms on the tour are full of ornate furniture , paintings and valuable porcelain objects . The rooms give the visitor a taste of the lifestyle of the nobility in previous centuries . Collections of pre - and ancient historical objects are on display as well as works from swabian artists , carvers and metalworkers . The Hall of Weapons displays one of the largest private weapon collections in Europe , covering everything from the Middle Ages to modern times . The Marstall museum contains the princely fleet of carriages . The weapon collection . The weapon collection in Schloss Sigmaringen contains over 3000 different examples of weapons and armor . Prince Karl Anton ' s passion for collecting weapons resulted in the creation of this collection . The collection shows the evolution of weapons from the 14th century to the 20th century . In addition to weapons , the collection also includes protective items such as shields , armor and handguns . Particularly noteworthy are such rare objects dating from the 15th century as a German multi - barrel gun , a body shield and a richly engraved helmet once belonging to a royal bodyguard from ca . 1622 . The collection includes not just European weapons but also weapons that were considered exotic , such as Persian weapons and the full equipment of a Japanese Samurai . In the " Galeriebau " ( English : Gallery Building ) , built from 1862 to 1867 under Prince Karl Anton , west of the castle is a collection of medieval torture instruments . The torture chamber with its instruments illustrates an earlier sense of justice . Pre and Ancient History Collection . In addition to the torture museum , the " Galeriebau " also houses a Pre and Ancient history museum . The collections give a picture of life from the Stone Age until the end of the Merovingian dynasty ( 10 . 000 B . C . until 700 A . D . ) . It also includes artifacts from the roman settlements around Sigmaringen . Karl Anton wasn ' t just fascinated by weapons and hunting , he also loved history and archeology . In 1881 during construction of a canal in the Sigmaringen Market Square , Roman pottery shards and iron work were found . This discovery excited Karl Anton , and he ordered a member of the court F . A . von Lehner to search for and archeologically explore the " Villa Rustica " in the area . Finds from this Roman estate as well as other nearby estates are including in the collection . " Marstallmuseum " . Located south west of the castle is the royal stables ( German : " Marstall " ) . The building now houses the " Marstallmuseum " , a collection of princely carriages . Carriages , coaches , sleds and sedan chairs are presented in an open building . Additionally , equipment for the horses including saddles , horse shoes and spurs , are on display in the museum . One of the exhibits , a manual firefighting pump dates back to the fire in the castle in 1893 . The fire raged for three days because the connections on the modern firefighting equipment didn ' t match the castle ' s connections . Water had to be brought up by a human chain in buckets from the Danube to the castle . Visiting the castle . The castle may only be visited as part of a tour . The tours are in German only , though translated guides are available . The castle is open in March and April from 9 : 30 am – 4 : 30 pm , May to October from 9 : 00 am – 5 : 00 pm , and November to February from 10 : 00 am – 3 : 30 pm .