Musée d'Art et d'Histoire is a museum of art and history is housed in Fribourg's only Renaissance building, The Ratzé Palace. The collections housed here include paintings and statues from the 12th to 19th centuries as well as historical remains that depict political, religious, and business aspects of life in Fribourg during that period. There is also a former slaughterhouse that now contains paintings and stone statues from the 19th and 20th centuries. In the garden is the piece of art La Lune by Niki de Saint Phalle as well as four other works.
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.