Reichenštejn, Medieval castle ruin in Javorník, Czech Republic.

Reichenštejn is a castle ruin positioned on a hilltop near Javorník, featuring preserved walls and foundations from medieval times. The remains reveal how rooms and defensive structures were once arranged to protect those within.

Archaeological finds date the castle's origins to the late 13th or early 14th century, and it was gradually expanded. It was probably destroyed in a violent assault and fire, either in the 14th century or in spring 1428, when Hussites campaigning against Bishop Konrad IV of Oleśnica took nearby Javorník. In the 15th century it was already deserted and became a base for robber knights.

The castle's name is a 19th-century invention: no written source records its medieval name or its founders. Both the Czech Rychleby and the German Reichenstein refer to the Złote Mountains (Rychleby), the same range that gave the Polish town Złoty Stok its name. In the 15th century the abandoned ruin became a base for robber knights, which likely led to its demolition by townspeople and nobles.

The site is reachable by foot via marked trails from Javorník and can be visited year-round at no cost. It helps to wear sturdy walking shoes since the path crosses uneven ground and loose stones.

The walls display multiple construction phases and techniques from different medieval periods side by side. This mix allows visitors to observe how fortress-building methods changed over centuries.