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Alt-Regensberg Castle was built about the mid-11th century AD by the House of Regensberg in the municipality of Regensdorf. The decline in importance of the castle had been shown already in the Old Zürich War, when Zürich's opponent Alt-Regensberg occupied without resistance. Later the ruins served as a quarry.
The quadratic keep dates from the first construction phase. The exterior of the residential tower has been transformed remarkably over the years. The outer casing of the 11th-century structure was filled with boll stones and mounted in horizontal mortar joints strokes. By 1200 the entire outer surface was chipped away and replaced with carefully edited boss squares. The whole tower thus received a much more upmarket appearance.
In the northern part of the complex is a rectangular foundation wall leaning against the perimeter wall. Here arose in the 12th or early 13th century wooden buildings that served as stables and outbuildings. They were moved to the south and replaced by a palas in the course of the 14th century claimed the whole area between keep and circular wall in the northeastern area.
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.