The Drents Museum is an art and history museum in Assen, Netherlands. The museum was opened in 1854. It has a collection of prehistorical artifacts, applied art, and visual art.
The museum is located in the earlier Marienkamp Abbey. It was founded in 1215 and moved to the present Assen in 1258.
The community ceased to exist during the Protestant Reformation, around 1596; its formal dissolution took place in 1602. In 1601 the church tower collapsed, and badly damaged the church, which was rebuilt in 1662: of the mediaeval structure only the south wall remained.
In 1848 the church was sold to the municipality, which used it as a community centre. Since 1982 it has been used as part of the Drents Museum.
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.