Pontécoulant estate presents all the distinctive features of nobility: castle, gamekeeper and gardener's detached house, dovecote, landscaping park, vegetable garden, guest houses, farm, woods and grounds. The Le Doulcet de Pontécoulant family arrived there in the 14th century. Their home was rebuilt in the 16th century and enlarged in the 17th. Since the second part of 17th century, the family has lived in Caen and above all in Paris: the castle became a second home. The interior decoration, furniture and daily objects embody the way of life of this 19th century aristocratic family: dining room, lounge, billiard room, rooms in the ground and first floor hold pieces of furniture of diverse origins: French pieces with renown trademarks, exotic and local furniture showing the taste for travels and the Le Doulcet de Pontécoulants' attachment to the region.
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.