Žerotínský zámek, Renaissance château in Nový Jičín, Czech Republic

Žerotínský Castle is a château with romantic architecture that anchors the historic core of Nový Jičín, featuring a white square form with slender towers as its most recognizable details. The structure combines elements from different construction periods and now serves as a cultural institution open to visitors.

The château began in the last quarter of the 14th century, when the lords of Kravaře, probably under Vok III of Kravaře, built a stone castle in the northwest corner of the town walls. By 1465 the southwest wing with three vaulted Gothic halls stood, and by 1500 the estate passed to the lords of Žerotín. Under Bedřich of Žerotín the Gothic castle was rebuilt in 1532–1541 into a fortified Renaissance château of the castello type, with a new west wing and stables.

The château houses the Nový Jičín branch and headquarters of the Museum of the Nový Jičín Region (Muzeum Novojičínska). Its halls hold the exhibition "Ve znaku zavinuté střely I" and a display of Nový Jičín Baroque art in the so-called Theresian Hall, whose fresco decoration dates from the Jesuit period.

The museum branch and the headquarters of the Museum of the Nový Jičín Region occupy the château in the historic centre, a municipal conservation area since 1967. Enter from the first courtyard, where the Renaissance loggia with the alliance coat of arms of Bedřich of Žerotín and Libuše of Lomnice faces you. The Knight's Hall, Stone Hall and Beamed Hall lie in the northeast wing.

The Renaissance loggia on the first courtyard holds the alliance coat of arms of Bedřich of Žerotín and his wife Libuše of Lomnice, set into the wall. It recalls the couple under whom the Gothic castle was rebuilt as a fortified Renaissance château between 1532 and 1541.