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The parish of San Vittore (St. Victor) is mentioned for the first time in the papal bull dated 5th April 1145 with which pope Eugene III took the canons of Saint-Gilles di Verrès under his protection. The parish church of San Vittore is rectangular in shape and has a single nave. The current church dates back to the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century and was consecrated in 1521. Its construction was financed by the counts of Challant, whose coat of arms may be observed on a keystone above a buttress.
The facade was rebuilt in 1670 and has a portico to protect the entrance. The seventeenth century portal in cut and sculpted stone is noteworthy and on the inside, the baroque altars in painted and gilded carved wood, are also interesting. The walnut stalls of the choir may be dated back to the end of the 17th century and bear the coats of arms of many of the noble families from the parish. With the new direction of the church beginning from the seventeenth century, the bell tower came to find itself behind the apse. Having collapsed in 1755, it was rebuilt in 1762 but it appears to have kept its medieval typology in the lower section.
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. One of them narrates the origin of the name of castle derived from that of jester Becko for whom the Duke Stibor had the castle built.
Another legend has it that the lord of the castle had his servant thrown down from the rock because he protected his child from the lords favourite dog. Before his death, the servant pronounced a curse saying that they would meet in a year and days time, and indeed precisely after that time the lord was bitten by a snake and fell down to the same abyss.
The well-conserved ruins of the castle, now the National Cultural Monument, are frequently visited by tourists, above all in July when the castle festival takes place. The former Ambro curia situated below the castle now shelters the exhibition of the local history.
