Muri-Gries abbey, first inhabited by Augustinian monks (1406), was pillaged by insurgent peasants in 1525 and was devastated during the Napoleonic wars. Suppressed in 1807 by the Bavarian government, it was given to the Benedictine priests of Muri (Switzerland) by the Austrian emperor in 1845.
The oldest part is represented by the castle built in the twelfth century by the counts Morit-Greifenstein, whose keep has now become the church's bell tower. It houses the heaviest bell of South Tyrol (5026 kg).
The Chiesa Abbaziale di Sant'Agostino (Church of Saint Augustine) was built in 1769 - 1771 in Baroque style. The interior vaults of the nave, the cupola and also the seven altar-pieces are richly decorated with frescoes by the noted Tyrolean painter Martin Knoller.
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.