The Church of St. Similien is an ancient church in Nantes. After the death of Bishop Similien in 310 AD, his successor, Eumilius, erected over his grave a votive chapel. One hundred years later, the bishop Leo, a Greek (444-458) built a real church to the site. In 848 AD, Nantes was vandalized during the Norman invasions. In 958 the restoration of the building began and was completed towards 1172 by the Duke Geoffroy II.
Following the siege of Nantes by Louis XI in 1487, Bishop Peter of Chaffault, repaired and enlarged the basilica Building it in the form of a Latin cross. The apse is Merovingian but the nave was extended towards the west, and flanked by two crosses.
During the French revolution, the church was closed to worship in 1793 and reopened after the Concordat of 1802. In 1824, the Millennium old building was destroyed and a church with three naves replaced it. The façade and portico were completed in 1835.
Fifteen years later, in 1850, the parish priest and the Church Council were considering the construction of a new church. In 1869, an architect, Eugene Boismen was appointed. The plans he offers were a Gothic building, inspired by those of the first half of the thirteenth century. The north-west facing building will include three naves, two ambulatory, bedside with a chapel which will be placed Our Lady of Mercy. The nave of five bays and end with a facade with two arrows. Permission to build the new church in 1872 is given. The Bishop Félix Fournier blessed the first stone of the new sanctuary on 5 October 1873. The work was completed in 1894 but as early as 1880, the vaults of the apse, the choir and transept were completed.
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.