The Jardin Exotique de Monaco is a botanical garden located on a cliffside in Monaco. The succulent plants were brought back from Mexico in the late 1860s. By 1895, Augustin Gastaud, who served as the Chief Gardener of the State Gardens of Monaco, grew the succulents in the Jardin St Martin.
Albert I, Prince of Monaco acquired a piece of land in Les Moneghetti in 1912. He commissioned Louis Notari, the Chief Engineer of Monaco, to build a new garden with footbridges. During the construction, Notari found a grotto underneath in 1916.
The grotto was opened to the public in 1950, but it may only be visited with specialized guides. Evidence of prehistoric human inhabitants has been found in the cave. There is a museum of Prehistoric Anthropology within the Exotic Garden displaying many of those prehistoric remains. It was founded by Prince Albert I in 1902.
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.