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Founded: 1655-1662Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Sweden
Historical period: Swedish Empire (Sweden)
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Stjärnorp Castle was built in 1655-1662 by Field Marshal Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge (1611–1662). The castle and terraces were designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. According to one legend, a story relates that during the war, comrades and brothers in arms Robert Douglas and Axel Lillie came home from the Peace of Westphalia, and they had made an agreement to build their own castles, Stjärnorp Castle and Löfstad Castle, so high that from the top floor, they could see and send greeting messages to each other.
All the Stjärnorp buildings were destroyed during a fire on May 12, 1789, but the chapel was restored in the same year. Although the wings were built up again within a few years after the fire, the funds were lacking for the repair of the main building, which is still in ruins. When Stjärnorp parish was formed in 1810, the castle chapel became the parish church chapel.
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.