Svijany Castle, Château in Svijany, Czech Republic

Svijany Castle is a Renaissance fortified residence in northern Bohemia with 17 hotel rooms and underground sections open throughout the year. The building features permanent exhibitions about local history and several aspects of regional heritage.

The first written record of Svijany dates to 1345, when the village belonged to the Cistercian monastery of Mnichovo Hradiště. In 1565 Jaroslav of Wartenberg acquired the village and built a Renaissance fortress there. After his death the estate passed to Jáchym Ondřej Šlik, executed in 1621, and then to the Waldstein family, who held it until 1814 and rebuilt the fortress as a château. From 1820 to 1945 it belonged to the Rohan family; after 1945 it was confiscated and nationalized.

The chapel of St John and Paul, originally a knights' hall, was rebuilt in 1768; its painted decoration from 1612–1621, with coats of arms of the Šlik family, was uncovered during the recent restoration. Exhibitions cover the Bronze Age cremation burials at "Na Cecilce", the castle's noble owners, and the history of brewing and spas.

The château stands in the northwest part of Svijany, about six kilometres west of Turnov and close to the D10 motorway. The grounds are a cultural monument since 1966. Hotel rooms occupy the third and fourth floors, and the grounds include a chapel, a walled courtyard with gates and a park.

The castle's great chapel was originally a knights' hall and was rebuilt in 1768 as the chapel of St John and Paul. Its painted decoration from 1612–1621, bearing the coats of arms of the mother and wives of Jáchym Ondřej Šlik, was uncovered only during the recent reconstruction.