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The first written mention of Sokolov is from 1279 under a name Falkenau / Falknov. The town was a property of noble families of Nothaft and later Schlick. The Schlick family built here a small castle.
The current palace was built after 1663 in the late renaissance style on the groundwork of the former castle of the Schlick era surrounded by water canal, that was heavily damaged during the Thirty Year's War. To the time period of this reconstruction belongs also the fountain standing in the central courtyard bearing the coats of arms of Jan Hartvik Nostic and his wife Maria Eleonora Popel of Lobkowitz. Originally the palace had two gates and cupolas on the towers. It was encircled by a water canal, surrounded by a park decorated with sculptures and a deer-park. In 19th century it was remodeled in the classicist and later architectonic styles; that's when the towers got the recent typical spires. In 1619 it hosted the so called 'Winter King' Friedrich of Falconia, also the Emperor Joseph I with his wife Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick stayed here in 1702. In 1945 it was the headquarters of the American Army that liberated the region annexed to the German territory in the time period of 1938-1945. Since 1960 the Sokolov palace is the seat of the Regional Museum which specializes in the history of the region, the history of mining and related geology and ecology.
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.