Details
Founded: 15th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Valois Dynasty and Hundred Year's War (France)
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The Château de Marconnay is a 15th-century castle located in the commune of Sanxay, in the Vienne department of France. It blends Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles. The lordship of Marconnay belonged to the Lévesque family from at least 1369 until 1683. It was then purchased by Charlotte de Vernoux, a lady-in-waiting to Madame de Montespan, and remained in her possession until 1719, when a fire severely damaged the castle. Afterward, it was managed by tax farmers.
Surrounded by a water-filled moat, the castle consists of a rectangular enclosure containing the main house and outbuildings. A two-arched stone bridge crosses the moat, leading to a gatehouse topped with a domed roof and a small structure. It features two round-arched doors — one for carts, the other for pedestrians — and was originally protected by two drawbridges and defended by machicolations. The gatehouse dates to the 17th century.
Two round towers with 15th-century cannon openings flank the walls. The main residence includes a rectangular 15th-century building connected to a polygonal staircase tower, as well as an L-shaped wing added in the 17th century but never completed. This newer wing features an elegant entrance flanked by two slender columns supporting a decorative entablature, and two mullioned windows with one dormer, framed by fluted pilasters.
Do not miss to go inside to discover an exhibition of old tools.
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.