Žerotín, Castle ruin in Žerotín, Czech Republic

Žerotín is a ruined bergfried-type castle on a hill in the village of Žerotín, not near Přerov. Its oval core measures 30 by 45 metres, with remains of a palace and a square bergfried 8 by 8 metres, surrounded by a double rampart and ditches.

Žerotín is one of the oldest noble castles in Bohemia, first recorded in 1250 when the nobleman Ratibor wrote himself after it; the Vlastislavici had acquired Panenský Týnec in 1239, and the castle was probably built between those years. In 1639 Swedish troops destroyed and burned it, and it has not been inhabited since; by 1673 it was described as desolate and uninhabitable.

The castle's name comes from the Žirotín family, who wrote themselves "of Žirotín" until dying out in 1467; later literature changed the spelling to Žerotín, risking confusion with a Moravian family of the same name. The family founded the Clarist convent at Panenský Týnec, endowed in 1321 by Plichta, Jaroslav and Habart.

The ruin lies on the northwestern edge of Žerotín, encircled by a local road; blue and green hiking marks lead into the village. There are two entries: from the road on the north, and from the east across both ramparts past the bergfrit relics, likely the original approach.

The site's natural position offered little protection, so the builders surrounded the core with a massive double rampart and ditches that are still visible. In 1857 the Ditrichštejn family set up a plum-drying house on the inner rampart and planted the earthworks with walnut and cherry trees.