St. Nicholas Cathedral is a Gothic church established in circa 1247. When the burghers of Elbing (Elbląg) first attempted to adopt the Protestant Reformation in 1525, the provost of St. Nicholas Church maintained Catholic practice. Since 1539 the city council tacitly tolerated and gradually openly promoted Lutheranism, so that St. Nicholas Church had become a Lutheran church by 1573.
Following King Sigismund III's Prussian regency contract (1605) with Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg and his Prussian enfeoffment contract (Treaty of Warsaw, 1611) with John Sigismund of Brandenburg these two rulers of Ducal Prussia guaranteed free practice of Catholic religion in prevailingly Lutheran Prussia. Based on these contracts Prince-Bishop Szymon Rudnicki of Ermland/Warmia achieved the restitution of St. Nicholas as Roman Catholic parish church in 1612, then the only one in Elbing, and remaining a Catholic church since.
St. Nicholas was damaged by fire in the late 18th century, then destroyed in World War II and reconstructed. In 1992, the building was elevated to the status of cathedral.
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.