Zbyny

Zbyny is a ruined medieval castle in the municipality of Ralsko, in northern Bohemia, sitting deep inside what was once a Soviet-era military training ground.

Where exactly are the Zbyny ruins located?

The remnants of the stronghold rise above the Divoké údolí (Wild Valley), close to the former Zbinsko hermitage, within the Židlov game reserve, roughly 3.5 km east of the village of Hvězdov. It's a remote corner of the Ralsko Uplands reached mainly by forest tracks and cycling trails today.

What do we know about the castle's history?

Zbyny first appears in written records in 1293, when the castle guarded the surrounding land and a small settlement grew up beneath its walls. That prosperity didn't last: by 1582, documents mention only the "Zbinsko" (or "Zbynsko") forest belonging to nearby Svébořice - meaning the castle and its settlement had already vanished, leaving only a place name behind.

What replaced the vanished village?

In the second half of the 18th century, Count Adam Hartig had a hermitage built on the site, partly carved directly into the sandstone rock face - a construction technique common throughout this part of Bohemia. The hermitage and its accompanying forest lodge, known as Zbynská, remained the last inhabited trace of the area for generations afterward.

Why did the whole area become deserted?

Zbyny's fate is tied closely to the broader history of the Ralsko region. After 1945, and formally from 1947, the entire area was turned into a military training ground - first used by the Czechoslovak army until 1968, then by Soviet forces stationed there until 1991. Roughly twenty surrounding villages were demolished to make way for the training range, and the Zbynská forest lodge disappeared in that same wave of clearances. Today the former training ground is largely empty forest and heathland, crossed by marked hiking routes.

What can visitors actually see there today?

Most visitors come for the scenic setting of the ruins above the Wild Valley and for the atmosphere of a half-forgotten, abandoned corner of Ralsko. Surviving wall fragments and the rock-cut niches of the Zbinsko hermitage give a sense of how the site once looked, while the surrounding Židlov reserve and former training-ground forests create the stark, distinctive landscape typical of Ralsko - a place where nature has been steadily reclaiming ground since the military left.

Frequently asked questions

Can you freely hike to the Zbyny castle ruins? The site lies within the former Ralsko military training area, so it's worth checking current trail markings and any access restrictions before setting out.

Where does the name Zbyny come from? It comes from the medieval castle first recorded in 1293; after the castle disappeared, the name survived as the label for the surrounding Zbinsko forest.

Are there any standing structures left at Zbyny? Mainly ruins remain, along with traces of the hermitage that Count Adam Hartig had carved into the sandstone rock in the 18th century.

Why did the settlement at Zbyny disappear? The last inhabited trace, a forest lodge, vanished after World War II, when the entire Ralsko region was converted into a Czechoslovak and later Soviet military training ground.