The name Bernegg was first mentioned in 1292. Around 1365 the estate was managed by Heinrich Gottschalk. According to unconfirmed documents, the house was looted by the Confederates in 1499 and then rebuilt. In 1702, the Bernegg passed into the possession of Johann Ulrich Merhart-Mallenbrey. To this day, Merhart family still owns the house.
In 1786, Maximilian Christof von Rodt, Bishop of Constance, built the four-storey central building.
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.