Michalovice castle is located near the Jizera river, about 3 kilometres northwest of the town of Mladá Boleslav.
The ruins of the early Gothic Michalovice castle stands on the right bank of the Jizera river. It was built by members of the Markvartice family during the last quarter of the 13th century to replace an earlier manor house. It was left to decay already in the 15th century. In the 19th century the ruins of the castle were sacked by treasure hunters, and now only the look-out tower remains.
The robust cylindrical leaning tower is the reason the castle has often been called the tub of Michalovice ('Michalovická Putna').
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.