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Untere Burg ('Lower Castle'), also known colloquially as Burg Alt-Schellenberg, is the smaller and newer one of the two ruined castles in Schellenberg. Its construction was finished around 1250. Its first appearance in written records is from 1317. The castle reached the pinnacle of its structural expansion around the year 1350. According to current estimates, it was inhabited until roughly the 16th century, when it was abandoned and ceased to function as a residence. In the following centuries, the castle lost its military purpose and became a ruin. In 1956, Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein handed over ownership of the heavily overgrown ruin to the Historical Association of the Principality of Liechtenstein. This institution is the current owner and caretaker of the ruin and oversees its research, upkeep and preservation. The castle is freely open to tourists and accessible by foot or mountain bike via a local footpath. Untere Burg is one of the five existing castles in Liechtenstein and one of the three ruined ones in the country.
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.