The oldest factory of Nuutajärvi Glass was founded in 1793, and it is the oldest glass factory in Finland that is still in function. It was founded by the local manor owners, Jakob Wilhelm de Pont and Harald Furuhjelm who were granted to manufacture window glass and other glass products.
Johan Agapetus Törngren bought the manor and glass factory in 1843. His son Adolf Törngren extended Nuutajärvi production strongly in the 1850s and for example hired Belgian and French experts to increase the quality of glass. He also restructured the factory site and other buildings to a uniform ensemble.
Today Nuutajärvi factory site is still one of the most well-preserved industrial milieus in Finland representing the solid Neo-renaissance architecture style. The oldest buildings are the bell tower from the 18th century and the empire style manor house built in 1822. Worker huts have been built between 1860s and 1940s.
Nowadays the factory produces famous Finnish art glass. For instance, the birds of Oiva Toikka are made in Nuutajärvi. Nuutajärvi Glass Village is a popular tourist attraction with over 100 000 visitors yearly. It provides restaurant, conference and accomodation services. Guided tours are also available.
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.