Castle Jičín, Neoclassical château in Staré Město, Czech Republic

Castle Jičín, also called the Wallenstein Castle, is an early Baroque complex with classical adaptations that fills half of the southern frontage of Valdštejnské náměstí. Its façade has twelve arcade pillars and two classical triangular pediments, and the complex contains three courtyards. Today it houses the Regional Museum and Gallery with 120,000 collection items, the town information centre and the J. B. Foerster art school.

The Trčkové z Lípy family bought Jičín in 1487 and built a residence from three town houses, later the west Renaissance wing. The Smiřický family added an arcaded Renaissance palace in 1608–1616; a gunpowder explosion killed 41 people in 1620. Albrecht von Wallenstein had it rebuilt in 1625–1633 by Andrea Spezza and Nicolò Sebregondi.

The castle fronts Valdštejnské náměstí with twelve arcade pillars and two triangular neoclassical pediments. Its three courtyards are reached through passages with rusticated portals; the smaller western courtyard is ringed by arcades, the larger eastern one has arcades on two sides at ground level. The former conference salon of the 1813 anti-Napoleonic alliance survives as the only original interior.

A visit involves moving through several separate departments housed within the castle building, each with its own exhibitions. Plan your time wisely since not all sections may be open simultaneously or on the same schedule.

The conference salon where Austrian, Russian and Prussian representatives agreed in 1813 to combine forces against Napoleon survives as the castle's only original interior. The town bought the castle from the Trauttmansdorff family in 1936.