The Gammel Vraa castle was first mentioned as a royal residence in 1553. Councillor Predbjørn Gyldenstjerne bought Vraa from the Crown in 1600 and created one of North of Jutland's grandest manors. He bred horses at the manor until in 1616 where it was inherited by his daughter Jytte who married Christian Grubbe. In 1624 she sold it to the Council of the Realm. Vraa became private property a few decades later Ide Lindenov and Steen Beck built the main wing in 1645 and decorated the facade with their coat of arms. Until the late 1700s a secret was found on the North side of the main wing. The moat encircling the castle was constructed in 1650.
Today Gammel Vraa is a hotel. Relief with the Beck and Lindenov family's coat of arms is still displayed at the building's foundation in 1645 and on the wall behind the fireplace in the salon. A motto goes: 'God's Good Spirit and Strong Hand Maintain Men and House From Drop and Gust From Hostile Violence.'
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.