Louzek, Castle ruin in Bujanov, Czech Republic.

Louzek is a castle ruin near Bujanov featuring Gothic architecture with wall and tower remnants from the medieval period. The remains allow visitors to examine the defensive construction methods from different angles across the elevated site.

Louzek was built to protect merchants on the Linzer Steig, the trade route through the Mühlviertel to Budweis. The lords of Maršovice, relatives of the Rosenbergs, are documented as owners from 1382 to 1423. After the Hussite Wars it passed to Johann von Malovice, whose sons sold it in 1448 to Ulrich II von Rosenberg, who attached it to the Nové Hrady estate; it was already listed as a ruin in 1541.

Louzek is one of the stops on the Zemská cesta, the Czech-Austrian castle and chateau trail. The name appears in a 1541 Rosenberg inventory as "Laužek zámek pustý" with the farmyard called Skurovice, the form still echoed by the nearby village of Skoronice.

The ruin is reached on foot only: a blue-marked trail runs from Kaplice to Rychnov nad Malší, a yellow-marked one from Bujanov toward Benešov nad Černou. The site stands open and unstaffed on a rocky spur above the left bank of the Malše at 600 m, so expect rough terrain and wear sturdy shoes.

Dendrochronological analysis of the surviving construction timber shows the trees were felled in 1357, which contradicts the theory that Jan of Maršovice founded the castle after 1382. The site was already settled at the end of the 13th century, though it is uncertain whether a castle stood there then.