Jicín
Encyclopedia
Jičín (ˈjɪtʃiːn; , Gitschin or Jitschin; Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

: Gitmiacinum, Gitzinum ; ) is a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in the Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec Králové....

 of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. It lies approximately 85 km northeast of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 in the scenic region of the Bohemian Paradise
Bohemian Paradise
Bohemian Paradise is a protected landscape area located in the North of the Czech Republic. There are numerous hiking and biking trails and several campsites...

 (Český ráj) under the Prachov Rocks (Prachovské skály).

Jičín has been declared a Municipal Reserve (městská památková rezervace) because of its well-preserved historical center, built around a rectangular square with a regular Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 street layout, remnants of fortifications and arcade Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

 and Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

 houses. The town is also connected with the popular fairy-tale character of Rumcajs.

The Battle of Gitschin was fought nearby during the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

 of 1866.

History

The surrounding countryside was settled by Slavic tribes at the beginning of the 6th century. The town of Jičín was probably founded at the end of the 12th century, in the place of today's village of Staré Místo (i.e. Old Place), under the castle of Veliš. It was moved two km northward to its present location shortly afterward, which was better protected by the Cidlina River
Cídlina River
Cidlina is a river in the Czech Republic, draining south from its source in Tábor hill near Lomnice nad Popelkou through Jičín, Nový Bydžov and Chlumec nad Cidlinou, merging with the Elbe at Libice nad Cidlinou. Cidlina is 87.3 kilometers long, its drainage area covers 1,164 km² and average...

. The first written reference of Jičín comes from a document by the wife of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, Queen Guta (Jitka), dated August 1, 1293. It is believed that the town was named after her (meaning Guta's town, Jitčino město in Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

). The town was built with a regular street layout around a rectangular square and was surrounded by wooden fortifications with reinforced bastions and a trench.

Jičín was first property of the king, but during most of the 14th century and at the beginning of the 15th century it belonged to the House of Vartenberk. When the town was founded two churches were built, a wooden parish church at the southwestern corner of the square and the stone Church of St. James the Great with a cemetery at the southeastern corner. The first was rebuilt in stone into the Parish Church of St. Ignatius at the end of the 14th century.

During the 15th century Jičín changed its lords several times until it became a property of the House of Trčka of Lípa
Lipa
LIPA may stand for:*League for Independent Political Action, an American progressive political organization established in 1928*Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a performing arts university in the English city of Liverpool that offers training in acting, dance, music, sound technology, arts...

 (1487–1607). With the succession of Vilém Trčka in 1453, the town began to be rebuilt in stone. The fortifications were rebuilt as well, with three gates connecting the center with peripheries: the western Prague Gate (1577), the northern Holín Gate, and the eastern Valdice Gate (1568), which is the only one preserved today. After a large fire in 1572, most of the wooden houses were replaced by stone Renaissance buildings, often decorated with sgrafitoes; the parish church was rebuilt as well. In the second half of the 16th century, a small palace of the House of Trčka was built on the southern side of the square, together with a similar Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

's house on Lesser Square (Malé náměstí). The palace was completely rebuilt by Zikmund Smiřický in 1607, but was badly damaged by a fire after an explosion.

The biggest expansion of the town started in 1621 during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

, when the town became a property of the generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...

 Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

, who made it the center of his Duchy of Friedland
Duchy of Friedland
Duchy of Friedland was a de-facto sovereign duchy in Bohemia. It was created in 1627 and disappeared in 1634, after death of the ruler, Albrecht von Wallenstein...

 and minted his own coins there. Several architects worked for him, notably G. Marini, A. Spezza, G. Pieroni, and, since 1630, N. Sebregondi. He had the palace (locally known as Zámek, i.e. château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...

) and the Church of St. James rebuilt completely in the North-Italian style and connected them via a roofed footbridge. The church, intended as a seat of a never-established bishopric, has never been completed, so it lacks a spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....

 and a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....

. The town was to be rebuilt completely into a modern town with separated representative and craftsman parts. The letter was placed into the New Town started in 1624 to the north of the central square with the Church of St. Mary de Sale and a new cemetery. Much of these plans remained unfilled due to the early death of Wallenstein in 1634, after which the town lost much of its importance. The parish Church of St. Ignatius together with the college was given to the Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 in 1627. The construction of a villa with a loggia (Libosad) was started to the northeast of the center in 1630. There was a Baroque garden in front of it and a park around. It is connected with the town by a 1.7 km-long alley of linden
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

 trees. Near Libosad, in the current village of Valdice, a Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...

 monastery with the Church of Assumption was founded in 1627. It served as the tomb of the house of Wallenstein until 1785; today the monastery is used as a prison.

In 1710 the town became a property of the House of Trauttmansdorff, which meant the arrival of the period of High Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

, during which many constructions were completed. Many statues and sculptures in the town today come from this period. In 1784 Jičín became the seat of a new region. During the first half of the 19th century the town spread quickly, especially eastward. In the second half of the 19th century, many Neo-Renaissance
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 houses were built. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, during communist
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....

 rule, many prefabricated apartment complexes
Panelák
is a colloquial term in Czech and Slovak for a panel building constructed of pre-fabricated, pre-stressed concrete, such as those extant in Czech Republic and elsewhere in the former Soviet bloc...

 sprung up around the town. LB was the latest princess of the kingdom.

Lords of Jičín

  • ????–1297 — King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia
  • 1297–1304 — Beneš of Vartenberk
  • 1304–1304 — Lev of Kenecchlumí
  • 1304–1327 — King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
    Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
    Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....

  • 1327–???? — the House of Vartenberk
  • 1438–1452 — Hašek z Valdštejna
  • 1452–1487 — Jiří and Hynek of Poděbrady
  • 1487–1607 — the House of Trčka of Lípa
  • 1607–???? — Zikmund Smiřický
  • 1621–1634 — Albrecht von Wallenstein
    Albrecht von Wallenstein
    Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

  • ????–???? — the House of Tiefenbach
    Tiefenbach
    Tiefenbach is the name of a number of locations and streams:*in Germany**Tiefenbach, Biberach, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, in the district of Biberach**Tiefenbach, Landshut, a municipality in Bavaria, in the district of Landshut...

  • ????–???? — the House of Sternberg
    Sternberg
    Sternberg is surname of:- Persons :* Counts of Sternberg, Bohemian nobility* Ben-Zion Sternberg , a Zionist statesman* Charles Hazelius Sternberg , an American paleontologist...

  • 1710–???? — the House of Trauttmansdorff
  • 1784–???? — seat of the region

People

  • Jacob Bassevi
    Jacob Bassevi
    Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg was a Bohemian Court Jew and financier. He entered business early in life, ultimately became very wealthy, and stood in high favor with the emperors Rudolph II, Matthias, and Ferdinand II, to whom he, with other Jewish capitalists, frequently rendered financial...

     (1580-1634), Jewish court financier
  • Albrecht von Wallenstein
    Albrecht von Wallenstein
    Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...

     (1583-1634), generalissimo and town lord
  • Josef Gočár
    Josef Gocár
    Josef Gočár , was a Czech architect, one of the founders of modern architecture in Czechoslovakia....

     (1880 - 1945), architect
  • František Kaván
    František Kaván
    František Kaván was Czech painter and poet.Kaván studied gymnasium in Hradec Králové, which he finished in 1888. During 1889 to 1896 he studied painting at the academy in Prague under the guidance of Julius Mařák. He was a member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences...

     (1866-1941), painter and poet
  • Karl Kraus
    Karl Kraus
    Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...

     (1874-1936), writer
  • Josef Váchal
    Josef Váchal
    Josef Váchal was a Czech writer, painter, graphic designer and book-printer.Váchal was the illegitimate son of Josef Aleš-Lyžec and Anna Váchalová - his parents never married...

     (1884-1969), writer and painter
  • Jaroslav Seifert
    Jaroslav Seifert
    Jaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...

     (1901-1986), Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist
  • Josef Štefan Kubín (1864-1965), writer

Twin towns — Sister cities

Jičín is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Erbach im Odenwald
Erbach im Odenwald
-Location:The town lies in the Odenwald at elevations between 200 and 560 m in the valley of the Mümling.-Neighbouring communities:Erbach borders in the north on the town of Michelstadt, in the east on the market town of Kirchzell , in the south on the community of Hesseneck and the town of...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Martin
Martin, Slovakia
Martin is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec river, between the Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra mountains, near the city of Žilina. The population numbers approximately 58,000, which makes it the eighth largest city in Slovakia...

, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 Wijk bij Duurstede
Wijk bij Duurstede
- The city of Wijk bij Duurstede :The city is located on the Rhine. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede....

, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 Świdnica
Swidnica
Świdnica is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. It has a population of 60,317 according to 2006 figures. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. From 1975–98 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...


External links

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