Details
Founded: 3500 BC - 900ADCategory: Cemeteries, mausoleums and burial places in Sweden
Historical period: Neolithic Age (Sweden)
Interesting Sites Nearby
User Reviews
There are three so-called passage graves lying only a couple of hundred meters from the hamlet Mysinge. A passage grave is a grave that is built of enormous stone blocks and surrounded by a cairn. The passage graves in Mysinge lie on the land ridge with openings facing southwest. The grave that has been described here has been excavated several times. It has been established that at least 30-40 persons were buried in the tomb, possibly as many as 70 persons.
Within the tomb there were remains from the greater part of the late Stone Age. It was found that the tomb was used in three different periods, the latest of which being the early Bronze Age. The oldest burial to have taken place is thought to have been in circa 3500 B.C., which makes the tomb the oldest passage grave to have been found in Scandinavia. The other two passage graves have not been excavated, but it would not be surprising if they were from the same period. The passage has 5 stones on each side and opens up to a chamber of 9 stone blocks. The roof of the chamber is made of 3 larger stone blocks with the flat side of the stones always turned inward toward the tomb.
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.