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In 1572, during the Eighty Year War with the Spaniards, Sea Beggars (Calvinist Dutch nobles) captured Brielle. After this work began on replacing the Medieval town walls with a modern fortress. This process of modernisation and replacement continued until 1713. The fortress ring has nine bastions and five ravelins and was designed by the fortress builders Willem Paen and Menno van Coehoorn. Since 1713 there have been few changes to the fortress, so the defences are some of the most important fortifications remaining in the Netherlands. It is possible to walk all the way around the walls to view them. Besides the walls there are also various buildings in the town centre which once had a military function, such as the Arsenaal, the Infirmerie and the Hoofdwacht (main guardhouse).
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.