Castle Ruin of Brandýs nad Orlicí, Castle ruin in Brandýs nad Orlicí, Czech Republic

Castle Ruin of Brandýs nad Orlicí is a medieval fortress positioned on a hilltop above the town, displaying Gothic features such as partial walls, towers, and gate structures. The remains reveal the characteristic stone construction and layout of a feudal stronghold with distinct functional areas.

The castle's origins were once linked to Jindřich z Prostiboře, but the 1289 use of the name "z Brandisa" is no longer accepted as proof of foundation. The first certain reference is to Sezem de Brandis; in 1308 the Zbraslav Chronicle names Oldřich de Brandeiz as a disturber of the Lanšperk monastery estate. The lords of Boskovice held it into 1423, the Kostka of Postupice owned it by 1457, and Vilém z Pernštejna bought it in 1506 and had it deliberately demolished.

In 1884 the Okrašlovací spolek (beautification society) placed benches in the ruin, secured the access path and fenced the core, and an improvised viewpoint was built over the cellars. From 1944 the local branch of the Klub českých turistů made saving the ruin its goal, leasing the site for fifty years and commissioning conservation of the masonry in the southern part of the core.

The ruin lies on a wooded spur at the eastern edge of Brandýs nad Orlicí, between the Tichá Orlice river and the Dolenský stream. The site is divided by artificial ditches into three parts; the perimeter wall of a late structure in the southeast core, conserved in 2013, can be seen from the Klopotské údolí valley, especially when the vegetation is bare. The original access route is uncertain: some place it in the north of the area, others on the southern slope or from the west across the neck ditches.

The ruin's core has been documented in drawings and photographs since the last quarter of the 19th century, and that material records the steady collapse of the surviving masonry. In 1884 the local beautification society placed benches in the grounds and fenced the access path and the core; a makeshift viewpoint was made above the cellars.