The Château de Cons-la-Grandville represents in a single building an architectural synthesis from the Romanesque to the Classical periods.
The first castle on the site was built at the end of the 11th century for Dudon de Cons. It was rebuilt before 1248 for Jacques de Cons: a round tower and part of the curtain wall remain from this period.
The present castle is built on the remains of the medieval castle, on a rocky promontory surrounded by the village and wooded hills. It was rebuilt for Martin de Custine using Pierre de Jaumont, a yellow limestone during the Renaissance, starting in 1572 (the north face has windows dated 1572, 1573, 1574, 1575).
The castle was partly reconstructed in the Classical style after the Thirty Years War. The north face was restored again in 1688 (the dates on the 9th and 10th windows provide evidence for this). Further rebuilding and modification took place in 1717, the 1730s and the at end of the 19th century.
The complex is completed with an 18th-century barn with rich woodwork in oak as well as a garden.
At the side of the castle is a Benedictine priory, reconstructed in the Classical period but built on a Romanesque style crypt from the 11th century, whose vaults are decorated with gothic frescoes dating from the 14th century.
Open to the public, the castle and its grounds have been restored since 1984.
References:The Beckov castle stands on a steep 50 m tall rock in the village Beckov. The dominance of the rock and impression of invincibility it gaves, challenged our ancestors to make use of these assets. The result is a remarkable harmony between the natural setting and architecture.
The castle first mentioned in 1200 was originally owned by the King and later, at the end of the 13th century it fell in hands of Matúš Èák. Its owners alternated - at the end of the 14th century the family of Stibor of Stiborice bought it.
The next owners, the Bánffys who adapted the Gothic castle to the Renaissance residence, improved its fortifications preventing the Turks from conquering it at the end of the 16th century. When Bánffys died out, the castle was owned by several noble families. It fell in decay after fire in 1729.
The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.