Andělská Hora Castle, Castle ruin in Andělská Hora, Czech Republic

Andělská Hora Castle is a stone ruin set on a rocky outcrop near the village of Andělská Hora in the Karlovy Vary region of the Czech Republic. Foundation walls and sections of the outer walls are still standing, giving a clear sense of the original layout of the fortification.

The castle was founded by the lords of Riesenburg at the end of the 14th century and first recorded in 1402, when Boreš of Riesenburg held it. Hussite captain Jakoubek of Vřesovice seized it in 1430, and from 1482 the Plauen family made it the seat of their domain. Swedish troops took and plundered it in 1635, and a fire in 1718 left it uninhabitable.

The castle's German name Engelsburg became Andělská Hora in Czech; the 1518 form Andiělska hora is recorded, and the town founded below around 1469 was called Engelstadt. Spa guests from Karlovy Vary climbed to the ruin, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe celebrated his 37th birthday here. The site appears in the film Balada pro banditu and the fairy tale Hora jménem Andělská.

A marked trail leads from the village up to the ruins and is easy to follow even without prior knowledge of the area. The path can get slippery after rain, so solid footwear is worth wearing.

The castle was besieged by Swedish troops in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War and was plundered; after that it was only maintained, and a large fire in 1718 made it uninhabitable. The ruin has belonged to the municipality of Andělská Hora, and a court dispute over restitution claims by the Czernin family has left ownership unresolved.