Březnice Castle was built in the 13th century. An original gothic fortress consisted of a peripheral wall, a double-storey housing palace and a single storey building, it is preserved till now in rests in the masonry of the Renaissance castle.
The castle was besieged and conquered in Hussite wars by the troops of the Catholic lords and captured. Damaged castle remained uninhabited for some time. In 1506 the family of Malovec z Chýnova and on Vimperk got an already partially repaired building, but substantial adaptations were started by Petr Malovec, who enlarged the fortress by internal fortifications with a water ditch and a rampart with bastions.
The castle is surrounded by a Renaissance garden and English landscape garden. Historically significant is its library from 1558, one of the oldest in Bohemia. 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.