Rabštejn Castle, ruin in Dukovany, Czech Republic

Rabštejn Castle is a ruin near Dukovany in the Vysočina Region. Its rectangular core measures 40 by 24 metres and probably had a two-palace layout; the rear palace survives as terrain traces and small masonry remnants, while the front palace likely stood on a rock outcrop. A two-metre-thick wall, preserved in a short section on the south side, connected them.

The castle was founded in the first half of the 14th century by the lords of Janovice and first documented in 1358, when Vok of Holštejn and Drslav of Šelmberk bought it. After 1360 it passed to Margrave Jan Jindřich and then to Prokop, who gave it to Hynek Jevišovský of Kunštát, called Suchý Čert, a robber baron recorded as lord in 1402. A Hussite garrison held it during the Hussite wars; the Moravian estates decided in 1440 to buy and demolish it, and their army captured and wrecked it in 1446.

Rabštejn was held in the early 15th century by Hynek Jevišovský of Kunštát, called Suchý Čert (Dry Devil), who used it as a base for raiding until his death in 1408. His associate Vilém Sudlice of Litovany continued the raids, and in 1409 the Moravian nobility intervened against the castle's occupants.

The site is accessible via a small path from nearby parking, though reaching the rocks requires climbing with a ladder. Wear sturdy shoes with good grip since the terrain is uneven and climbing to the top involves some physical effort.

A forward fortification was built east of the castle in the first third of the 15th century: an outer neck ditch, then a platform with two shallow ditches and ramparts protecting a rounded, probably towered structure. The eastern neck ditch is 19 metres wide.