Built around 1150 by Guy III le Bouteiller de Senlis, Château de Montépilloy dominates the county of Senlis, thanks to its formidable keep, probably the highest of the royal domain at the time of its construction (around 1190-1200).
Testimony of a prestigious medieval past, the remains of the fortified castle include, in addition to the keep, an enclosure with a polygonal moat, an entrance gate through which one accesses the farmyard, a curtain wall with machicolation connecting the keep to the stately home and its semi-circular flanking tower.
The castle and its seigneury belonged to a succession of historical figures, each close to a king of France. The castle is open to the public
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.