Starý Zámek, Medieval castle ruin in Borotín, Czech Republic.

Starý Zámek is a castle ruin on a promontory above the Starozámecký pond at 500 metres, about one kilometre southeast of Borotín village. Its core has a polygonal plan with a massive bergfrit at the front, a small round tower guarding the inner gate, and fragmentary palace walls; the best-preserved parts are the late-Gothic gate with loopholes and the early 16th-century palace, which retains the imprint of a timber chamber.

The first known owner was Mikuláš of Borotín, mentioned in 1356; his family held the castle for nearly a century. During the Hussite Wars Mikuláš served as a Hussite captain from 1426 but later sided with Emperor Sigismund, so a Hussite army besieged Borotín unsuccessfully in 1434. After 1613 the castle passed to Kryštof Vojkovský of Milhostice; his sons joined the Bohemian Revolt, and imperial troops took and probably burned it. Polyxena of Lobkovic bought it as a confiscation in 1623, the year it was described as deserted.

The castle's name comes from the Borotín family, who held it for nearly a century after Mikuláš of Borotín is first recorded there in 1356. The adjacent Baroque farmstead, called Starý zámek, shares the protected monument status granted in 1963.

The ruins are accessible via marked hiking trails from Borotín village and make for a manageable short walk. Parking is available in the nearby village center, and you should be prepared for uneven ground and some missing sections of stairs or pathways.

The best-preserved parts are the late-Gothic gate building with its rows of loopholes and the early 16th-century palace behind it, where the imprint of a timber chamber survives in the masonry. The massive bergfrit at the head of the core also remains in part.