In 1324 the Castle of l'Estriverie estate was declared a fief by the Counts of Hainaut and granted to Gérard de Lestruve. The estate was passed on to Hoste d'Ecaussinnes and in 1440 to the Despretz de Quievrain family who kept it until 1483. One of this family, Watier de Quivrains, erected a castle here in 1454. It is on the foundations of this old castle that the current building stands.
In 1483 the estate passed by marriage to the Cottrel family, who kept the castle for seven generations. This family did most of the restoring and rebuilding in the 16th and 17th century, and turned the fortified medieval dwelling into a graceful château.
In 1727, the estate became the property of Marie Spinola, the last niece of the Cottrel family. She gave it to her son, who sold the estate in 1756 to Joseph Antoine de Wautier. The court of Hainault however overturned the sale and transferred the castle to Jean Philippe d'Yve, Viscount of Bavay.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.