Castle Jičín

Wallenstein Castle in Jičín is a sprawling Renaissance-turned-Baroque complex that fills the entire southern side of Wallenstein Square (Valdštejnovo náměstí) in the heart of town. This is where Albrecht von Wallenstein, one of the most powerful and controversial commanders of the Thirty Years' War, built a residence meant to serve as the capital of his own personal duchy.

How did the castle end up in Wallenstein's hands?

The building's story starts in 1487, when the Trčka family of Lípa bought the Jičín estate together with the nearby Velíš lands and put up a three-storey fortified manor house. Later owners, the Smiřický family of Smiřice, turned it into a representative Renaissance residence with a distinctive arcaded courtyard.

In 1620, during a property dispute that broke out after the Smiřický line died out, gunpowder stored in the cellars exploded and badly damaged the building. A year later, in 1621, the emperor pledged the Jičín estate, along with Kumburk, to Albrecht von Wallenstein as collateral for a debt, and by 1623 Wallenstein had bought up most of the confiscated Smiřický properties for the enormous sum of half a million gold pieces — one of the single largest property transfers of the entire post-White Mountain confiscation wave.

A duchy's capital that never got to last

In 1624, Emperor Ferdinand II consolidated Wallenstein's holdings into the Frýdlant principality, which was raised to a duchy in 1627, and Jičín became its capital. Between 1624 and 1633, Wallenstein had the old Renaissance seat rebuilt in an early Baroque style, adding stables, a riding hall, a ball-game hall and an armoury — the trappings of a ruler who dreamed of running his own state within the Holy Roman Empire. Those ambitions ended abruptly with Wallenstein's assassination on imperial orders in Cheb in 1634.

The uniform, classicist facade the castle still wears today wasn't added until 1775. Its last aristocratic owners were the Trauttmansdorff family, who sold the palace to the town of Jičín in the 1930s.

What's inside the castle today?

The building now houses the Regional Museum and Gallery of Jičín, a primary art school, and a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Wallenstein era and Baroque painting. It also makes a natural starting point for exploring Wallenstein Square, considered one of the most beautiful town squares in the Czech Republic, and the adjoining Wallenstein Loggia.

Frequently asked questions

Who built Jičín Castle? The first residence was raised by the Trčka family in 1487, the Smiřický family gave it its Renaissance form, and Albrecht von Wallenstein rebuilt it into a monumental Baroque palace between 1624 and 1633.

Why did Wallenstein choose Jičín as his capital? Jičín sat at the centre of the vast estates Wallenstein assembled after 1621 and was meant to be the heart of his independent Frýdlant duchy — an ambition cut short by his assassination in 1634.

What can visitors see inside the castle today? The building houses the Regional Museum and Gallery of Jičín, with an exhibition on the Wallenstein era, and its 1775 facade still dominates Wallenstein Square.

Is the castle connected to other Wallenstein sites in Jičín? Yes, it stands directly next to the Wallenstein Loggia and forms part of the wider urban complex Wallenstein planned as the centre of his duchy.