Castle Vlčtejn, Medieval castle ruin in Vlctejn, Czech Republic.

Castle Vlčtejn is a medieval castle ruin perched on a hilltop near the village of Vlčtejn in the Czech Republic. The remaining stone walls and foundations stand among forest surroundings and offer views across the regional landscape.

Vlčtejn was first mentioned indirectly in 1284 through Holen of Vlčtejn. Before 1360 the Rožmberks acquired it and rebuilt the wooden castle into its present form. In 1421 Jan Žižka's Hussite army took it, and on 9 and 11 June 1450 the Vlčtejn Agreement was signed there between Jiří z Poděbrad and the defeated Strakonice Union. It was inhabited until the 17th century, then decayed; the palace was re-roofed in 1822 and the outer bailey demolished in 1824 for building stone.

The castle's name appears in old records as Vilštejn or Vildštejn, and its German form Wildstein. A 1450 agreement signed here between Jiří z Poděbrad and the defeated Strakonice Union is known as the Vlčtejn Agreement. The ruin is freely accessible and protected as a cultural monument since 1963.

The site is accessible year-round and open for free exploration at your own pace. Marked trails lead from Vlčtejn village to the ruins, so wearing sturdy shoes and watching your footing is sensible.

The core of the castle is a two-room palace with flat ceilings built on top of a rock formation, reached through a small tower gate into a cramped courtyard. Below it on the north side lay a bailey, of which the remnant of the eastern wall and an adjoining large building can still be traced.