Michalovice Castle: A Medieval Bohemian Castle Ruin
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Czechia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page9 sections
History
Foundation and the Lords of Michalovice
Michalovice Castle is a medieval castle ruin in Czechia, near Mladá Boleslav, founded by members of the Markvartice family during the second half of the 13th century to replace an earlier manor house. Jan I of Michalovice is identified as its builder. The Markvartice family was a prominent medieval Bohemian noble house, and the Lords of Michalovice became one of its important branches.
The Lords of Michalovice first appear in surviving documents in 1281. Jan I was known for taking part in knightly tournaments in Bohemia, the Rhineland, and France, reflecting the family’s place among the prominent nobles of medieval Bohemia.
Abandonment and decline
The male line of the Lords of Michalovice ended in 1468, when Jindřich Kruhlata of Michalovice died in a battle near Turnov. His sister Magdaléna was married to Jan of Tovačov of Cimburk the Younger. The Tovačov family neither occupied nor maintained Michalovice Castle, and by 1513 the site was described as an abandoned, ruined castle.
The castle was left to decay during the 15th century and remains a ruin. In the 19th century, undermining caused the Putna Tower to split and lean. A tradition attributes the damage to treasure seekers who were searching for a legendary buried treasure near the tower.
Preservation and the leaning tower
The two separated parts of the Putna Tower were joined in 1935 by workers of the Czechoslovak State Railways. Directly beneath the tower, they found a pouch containing approximately 470 silver coins dating from the period of the Thirty Years’ War, the major European conflict fought from 1618 to 1648. The Putna Tower has served as a lookout tower since 1911. Michalovice Castle has been protected as a Czech cultural monument since 1967.
A geodetic measurement, a precise survey used to determine angles and dimensions, recorded the tower’s inclination as 6.51 degrees in April 2026. An authorized measurement on 21 July 2026 recorded an inclination of 7.315 degrees. This exceeded the previously recorded inclination of the tower in Gau-Weinheim, Germany, establishing the stated world record for an unintentionally leaning structure.
Remains
Outer defenses and approach
The castle ruin stands on the right bank of the Jizera River, approximately 3 kilometres northwest of Mladá Boleslav, on a steep triangular promontory at an elevation of about 250 metres. A square outer ward was protected by a ditch. Its former buildings are not known, while only a small fragment of masonry survives in the southwestern corner.
The approach to the inner castle crossed a second ditch, passed through a narrow outer defensive area, and entered the castle courtyard. A broad outer defensive area surrounded the rear and both sides of the inner castle.
Inner castle
Putna Tower
The Putna Tower dominates the castle courtyard. It originally had two entrances. One led to the first floor, from which the ground floor could be reached through an opening in the floor. The other led to the second floor, where a passage within the thickness of the wall continued to the third floor. The rooms on the first and second floors were covered by domed vaults.
The tower split and leaned after 19th-century undermining, and its two parts were joined in 1935. Its present inclination was measured at 7.315 degrees on 21 July 2026.
L-shaped palace
An L-shaped palace stood behind the Putna Tower. The southern wall retains the remains of two garderobes, medieval latrines or privies commonly built as projecting or wall-integrated features of castles.
