Oberkapfenberg is mentioned in a document for the first time in 1173. The current castle was erected around 1264. It was the residence and administrative seat of the Counts of Stubenberg and the seat of the regional High Court for most of the Mürz Valley. Around 1550 it was converted into a Renaissance fortress that was abandoned in 1739 and fell into disrepair. After 1955 the Stubenberg Family rebuilt their ancestral fortress within the old walls and adapted it into a castle hotel. Today Burg Oberkapfenberg is a cultural and culinary attraction of more than regional importance.
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.