Built by the knights of Leiben around 1113, the Leiben Castle had an eventful history and constantly changed hands. The 800-year-old castle towers high above the surrounding countryside on its mighty cliff. One of its highlight features is a unique 17th century wooden coffered ceiling, which depicts the Cycle of Planet Deities by Hendrik Goltzim from 1569.
In 1989 the municipality carefully restored the castle as a listed historical building and made it available to locals and visitors. The castle vaults contain an agricultural equipment museum with exhibit items from the first-ever generation of tractors and impressive moving trial models that were individually made. Open on Sundays and holidays from Easter Monday to the end of October. Group tours are available.
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.