The castle was built in 1278 as part of the Zittau region's defense structure. George of Poděbrady ordered the castle to be seized shortly after the Hussite Wars and after many conflicts, the Tolštejn dominion was taken by 1471 by two Saxon princes, Ernest and Albrecht. During the Thirty Years War, the army of the Austrian Emperor occupied the castle. In 1607, the Swedish General Wrangel laid siege and burned down the castle.
Today the ruins of the castle are one of the most visited places in the Czech Republic. The creation of the microregion of Tolštejn was designed to help tourism in the area.

Tolštejn Castle

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The castle was founded in the 1st half of the 14th century by the family of Berka from Dubá in order to provide protection for the merchant route to Žitava. It was built on sandstone blocks and has never been conquered.
For the whole time of its existence the castle was in the possession of the Berka family, who left it by the end of the 16th century. The cause of its destruction was the mine where millstone used to be exploited (in the 18th century). The fort is over 100 metres long but it was strongly affected by the mining activities. At present, the only preserved part is the wall with a gate. The nearby rock gate is not natural but man-made.
http://liberecky-kraj.cz/

Milštejn Castle

Krásný Buk was probably founded in the second half of the 13th century. From 1263 its owners could have been the Markwartitz family, but there is no definite evidence of that. At the start of the 14th century the castle belonged to Henry of Leipa, who sold it on in 1319 to the Bohemian king, John of Luxembourg.
A little later the Wartenbergs were owners of the castle. They used it especially as a base for their raids. As a result, Krásný Buk was seized and destroyed on 15 September 1339 by troops of the Lusatian League. The castle was not rebuilt again and fell into ruins.
Excavations in 1850 at the castle brought shards of pottery and reportedly also horseshoes, arrowheads and a Hussite mace to light. In addition, not far from the castle on a field a badly weathered Roman coin, broken in two, was found dating to the rule of the Emperor Hadrian (117–138 A.D.).

Krásný Buk Castle

The castle was first mentioned in records dating from 1324. It was established beside a salt trade route from Mišeň to Česká Lípa by the Ronovec family. The edges of the outcrop, which was a level summit, were carved to resemble castle walls with loopholes, and some of the gullies in the outcrop were filled in with masonry. Thanks to an ingenious system of trenches it was possible to flood the area around the rocks. The combination of natural conditions and human ingenuity turned the castle into a fortress unassailable by medieval warriors.
During the Thirty Years' War, Knight Mikeš Pančiř of Smojna was based here and launched a raid on Lužice, and as a consequence the castle was besieged in 1445–45. When the starving troops capitulated after three months of isolation it was burned down by the end of 1427. The castle was repaired, but it gradually ceased to meet the desired standards of comfort, and during the 16th century it was deserted and became dilapidated.
In 1639 the Swedes burned it down, and the castle became a ruin. From 1670 to 1785 hermits were based here, making use of the rock for their needs. Among other things, they carved out new rooms and created recesses for the Stations of the Cross, built a chapel in the rock and formed a new entrance. Historical documents talk about several men: Konstantin was a bricklayer; Vaclav painted a solar clock on the wall; and an optician and gardener called Samuel grew corn on the plains around the castle, as well as wine on its southern terraces.
After the hermitage ceased to exist the state owners, the Kinský dynasty, turned the complex into a romantic tourist attraction. Little has been preserved of the original structure on the elevated plateau, although the spaces sunk into the rock can be clearly seen today like the dungeon, well, hermitage, passage and the terraced walkways. In the former prison, dungeon carvings have been preserved, which were dug out of the walls by former prisoners. Sloup has now become a romantic place for outings and occasionally candlelit concerts and historical jousting matches are held.

Sloup Castle

The castle named Svojkov was obviously founded at the beginning of the 14th century.
The castle was built on the 20-metre-high conical hill in the valley under the rock massif of Svojkov. During the construction work, the rock base was used and some parts of the castle were carved directly in the rock. The sandstone needed for the development of the castle was brought from the nearby surroundings. Because of the height of the rock it was possible to build a three-storey construction, with staircases built from outside.
From 1381 the castle was in the possession of the noble family from Chlum. The best-known member of the family was Jan from Chlum, nicknamed Kepka, who - along with Václav from Dubá - accompanied John Huss to the council in Konstanz. He supported Huss' and his teaching and was his loyal friend. During the 16th century the castle dilapidated and in 1590 the wooden part of the castle was pulled down and burnt. In 1650 new owners began to build a small Baroque chateau at the foot of the hill. In the 2nd half of the 19th century the ruin was fixed and completed with new romantic elements.
http://liberecky-kraj.cz/

Svojkov Castle

Renaissance chateau established by the Berka of Dubé in 1565. In 1759 radical changes were made and the chateau became a late Baroque edifice with a modified English park. After 1870 the situation was reversed – interest in the chateau was pretty much lost and it became a granary. In 1901, it was restored in the neo-Baroque style and after the war it became a children’s home.
http://waymarking.com/

Nový Falkenburg Chateau

Šaunštejn Castle (German: Schauenstein, also Hohenleipaer Raubschloss) is a rock castle near Vysoká Lípa (Hohenleipa) in the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. Today only a few ruins remain of the original castle. Preserved are the foundations of the wooden superstructure, several rooms that were chiselled-out of the rock and the cistern.
The castle was built by the Berka z Dubé family from Lípa in the 14th century to protect the Old Bohemian Road (Alte Böhmerstraße), the trade route from Bohemia to Lusatia. From 1435 it belonged to the Wartenbergs who used it as a base for raids. In the 15th century it was besieged several times by the Wettins und the Lusatian League and finally destroyed.

Šaunštejn Castle

Lemberk was originally a frontier guard castle on the Zittau trade route. Only the cylindrical tower remains of the original structure, other parts were covered by Renaissance and Baroque reconstructions.
Lemberk chateau was created by the reconstruction of a medieval castle where St. Zdislava of Lemberk used to live. Inside the chateau, the Chapel, the Great Hall with its precious coffer ceiling and painted scenes from Aesop’s fables, the Suzerain Office with a safe from the beginning of the 19th century, and the Black Kitchen, get the most attention. Since 2010, the tour has been enriched by the Armoury and so-called Liebig Rooms, which resemble accommodation for a significant textile industrial family at the nowadays inaccessible Nový Falkenburk chateau at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Occasionally, the Clam-Gallas Apartment, where visitors can see the progress of the restoration works and also the progress of furnishing the rooms with historical furniture, is opened. A Baroque garden and the so-called Zdislava Well are situated near the chateau.
http://liberecky-kraj.cz/

Lemberk Chateau

The Renaissance chateau was built after 1574 by Henry of Vartemberk. Later modifications were not of a significant nature. The chateau served as a residence of the Grand Priories of the Order of Malta. It was adapted in 1930-31 for the owner, Josef Vraný, which unfortunately was not done in a very sensitive way.
In 2010 the chateau was bought by the current owner, Mr. Ondřej Kilián, who made it accessible to the public. Tours of the chateau are given as part of the few cultural events that take place here during the year.
http://liberecky-kraj.cz/

Horní Libchava Chateau

The Gothic castle was founded to defend the passage between Bohemia and Lusatia in the middle of the 13th century. In the 16th century it was reconstructed to a Renaissance form. Following the fire of 1843, the castle was uninhabited, it served as a summerhouse of Clam-Gallas family for a time.
https://czecot.com/

Hrádek nad Nisou(Grabštejn) Castle

The Renaissance building structure of the Šluknovsky Chateau is dated back to the 16th century and was reconstructed over the years. Originally a wooden fortress stood on the site of the present day chateau during the rule of Jiři of Poděbrad, which also included a brewery, malt house and garden, where hops were grown. In 1566-1573 the new owner of the estate Arnošt of Šlejnice had a new representational residence built on the site of the original fortress, in the style of Saxon Renaissance. The chateau suffered a fire in 1986. It underwent complete reconstruction.
https://czecot.com/