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St Giles' Parish Church is the parish church of Wrexham, Wales. The church is recognised as one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Wales and is a Grade I listed building.
The iconic 16th-century tower is a local landmark that can be seen for many miles around. St Giles' occupies a site of continuous Christian worship for at least 800 years. The main body of the current church was built at the end of the 15th century and beginning of the 16th centuries. It is widely held to be among the greatest of the medieval buildings still standing in Wales.
The church contains numerous works of note including decorative carvings and statuary dating from the 14th century, monuments by Roubiliac and Woolner, a stained-glass window attributed to Burne-Jones and one of the oldest brass eagle lecterns in Britain.
The tomb of Elihu Yale, benefactor of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is located in the churchyard.
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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.