Klempenow Castle was built during the time of German settlement in Pomerania in the 13th century and formed part of a series of fortifications on the border with Mecklenburg. The original castle consisted of two towers and a three metre thick defensive wall. It has been substantially altered during the centuries.
During the 17th century it acquired more or less the present shape and look. When Pomerania was ruled by Sweden, the castle was given as a fief to Dodo zu Innhausen und Knyphausen by the Swedish king. From 1762, it belonged to the Swedish Crown. It has since housed several different residents; after World War II, it housed refugees expelled from former German lands and at one time as many as fourteen families lived in the castle. After 1990, a renovation of the castle was carried out.
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.