St. John the Baptist Church is considered to be the acme of the Yaroslavl school of architecture. It was built in 1671-1687 on the bank of Kotorosl river. Its walls and dome drums are covered with richly glazed tiles; the temple's fifteen onion domes are assembled in three groups. The 7-storey, 45-metre high bell-tower was built later than the church itself in mid-1690s. The entire interior is covered with frescoes depicting Christian saints, St. John the Baptist hagiography and biblical topics. They were painted by Dmitry Plekhanov and Fyodor Ignatyev in 1694-1695.
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.