Medieval Hum town was first mentioned in 1102 in the deed of gift by Marquis Ulrich II. The passage through the early 12th century double entrance gates, and then this one from 1562 leads us into the square. The exceptionally small area has all town features: the town loggia, nobility and folk houses, and the parish church with the priest residence.
The castle was located on the site of the current Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (erected in 1802) on the highest point of the town, which allowed its control of the surrounding area. Rectangular in shape, 30 x 35 meters (typical dimensions of the time) and connected by two streets with the twin town gates, which facilitated better communication and protection. The castle was entered from the inside, from the town. Despite its basic defensive purpose, in the earlier era it was a seat of its owners – the feudal lords under the Patriarch of Aquileia.
Ever since the prehistoric times until the ruins of the Venetians in 1797, Hum was a defensive border town, full of life, conflicts, different rulers, war and peace. From the antiquity to the Late Middle Ages, it was used as a defensive castle of an estate. Often destroyed and renovated, it finally fell under the Venetian rule in 1412, which restored it completely to defend its own borders. Its most probable final fall occurred during the Uskok War (1612-1618), when the entire town was burned down and the castle was never renovated. Its stone was gradually being taken for building houses. Any trace of it was finally lost following the erection of the church.
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.