The estate of Ekebyhov was created by Klas Horn (1583-1632) in the 1620s by merging farms Ekeby, Hovgården and Gällsta. Horn built a stone castle on three floors, which now no longer exists. The existing palace is a wooden two-storey building built in the 1670s, when Field Marshal Count Carl Gustaf Wrangel acquired Ekebyhov. Wrangel's death in 1676 halted the construction and it was resumed in 1701, when Baron Eric Lovisin had bought the estate.
After several ownership changes during the second half of the 1700s, Ekebyhov became as a residence of Albrecht Ihre in 1790. His son's grandson, Captain Bengt Ihre Johan Albrecht (1867-1956) built a nursery at the castle, planted with 400,000 trees, and seemed to increase fruit production in Sweden and Finland.
The Ekebyhov was owned by the family Ihre until 1980 and castle park with a wide variation of fruit trees has descended from Johan Ihre time. Today the castle is used as municipal conference center and cultural activities in association management.
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.