Kinlough Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Mayo. Kinlough Church, part of the National monument, is nearby.
The tower is thought to have been constructed in the 13th century AD, although the additional two storeys with corner fireplaces that were subsequently added to it, date from a 1574 remodelling by Sir John MacOliver Burke.
The present tower house was built in the 16th century. Kinlough Castle is four storeys high, with gables at the east and west walls, but no crenellations. There are traces of a bartizan in the west wall. There are also three chimney stacks.
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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.