Žitenice, Castle in Czechia

Žitenice is a two-storey baroque château of two wings joined at a right angle, standing in the village of the same name in the Litoměřice district. Masonry of an earlier Gothic fortress is presumed to survive in the western wing, which also holds walled-up arcades; paired Renaissance windows remain from an older phase. The courtyard gate, with rusticated pilasters and a segmental gable bearing the year 1699 and the coat of arms of provost Hugo von Königsegg, is attributed to architect Giulio Broggio.

The first manor at Žitenice was a Gothic fortress, likely existing by 1472 when the village was given as dowry to Ludmila of Rabštejn. The fortress passed to the lords of Roupov, and Václav Vilém had it rebuilt in Renaissance style. In the mid-17th century, provost Ferdinand Leopold Beno of Martinice had the fortress converted into a Baroque château, completed under Hugo Franz of Konigsegg. A fire in 1806 removed most architectural details during repairs.

The gate into the courtyard carries the date 1699 and the coat of arms of provost Hugo Franz von Konigsegg, under whom work on the castle was completed. The gate is attributed to architect Giulio Broggio. The castle has been protected as a cultural monument, and in September 2024 local citizens voted in a referendum for the municipality to try to buy it, then offered for 24 million crowns.

The castle stands in the centre of Žitenice, in the Litoměřice district of the Ústí nad Labem region. Since 1962 it has housed a branch of the State Regional Archive in Litoměřice, so the interiors are not a museum open to tourists; the two-storey wings and the courtyard gate with the 1699 date and the Konigsegg coat of arms are best seen from the village street and courtyard side.

The 1699 gateway with rusticated pilasters and a segmental gable bearing the coat of arms of provost Hugo von Konigsegg is attributed to architect Giulio Broggio. The western wing is thought to conceal masonry of the Gothic fortress, and paired Renaissance windows survive there alongside walled-up arcades.