Bezděz Castle, Castle ruin in the Liberec Region, Czech Republic

Bezděz is a Gothic castle ruin on the phonolite hill Velký Bezděz, 604 m above sea level. Visitors see the royal palace, the burgrave's house and two round towers; instead of a great hall, each palace repeats a vaulted hall flanked by a vaulted chamber and a panelled room. The Chapel of St Michael survives as the finest interior.

King Ottokar II founded the royal castle in 1264 to replace the cramped Houska, and most of it was finished by 1279, when Margrave Otto V of Brandenburg held the young Wenceslaus II prisoner here. Wenceslaus later returned as king to build the Chapel of St. Michael. After 1623 Albrecht of Wallenstein began turning it into a fortress, then gave it to Benedictine monks from Montserrat in 1627.

The castle's silhouette inspired poet Karel Hynek Mácha and composer Bedřich Smetana, among many other writers and artists. The name Bezděz derives from the personal name Bezděd, meaning Bezděd's forest or castle, and appears in records as Besdhetz in 1264.

The site is open from May through September with reduced weekend hours in April and October. Guided tours lasting around 50 minutes take visitors through the main buildings and are available during operating hours.

The Chapel of St. Michael was added at the start of Wenceslaus II's reign, after the rest of the castle was largely finished in 1279. Wenceslaus, held at Bezděz as a child in 1279, later ordered its construction. It is among the best-preserved parts of the complex.