Wallenstein Loggia Jičín

Wallenstein Loggia, Jičín

Until the beginning of the 17th century all there was below Zebín hill was a game reserve. In the 1620s, however, Albrecht von Wallenstein decided to build a grand residence with extensive gardens on the outskirts of the town, as part of his ambitious plans to rebuild Jičín as a ducal seat. The planned gardens and the summer house itself are in many ways reminiscent of the Wallenstein Garden in Prague, built around the same time. The dominant landmark of the complex as a whole is the monumental Loggia itself, the front part of which serves as a sala terrena, while the rear offers the comfort of a suburban villa. Behind the Loggia there is a cour d’honneur, originally used as a farm building. There are separate gardens in front of the Loggia. They were to be arranged in a geometric fashion and include various elements of Mannerist and Early Baroque garden architecture – particularly fountains, grottos and a large swimming pool. Several architects were involved – Andrea Spezza, Niccolo Sebregondi, Giovanni Pieroni – however, from the written sources it is hard to know which of these played the greatest part in the construction of the summer residence.

The Loggia was built not only as a unique complex, but also as part of a larger whole. It lies on the axis of Wallenstein's Baroque composite landscape, which linked the hill of Veliš and the castle of the same name (later demolished) with the town of Jičín and the Carthusian monastery in Valdice. That axis was to be further accentuated by a grand avenue of four rows of linden trees between Jičín and Valdice. However, only the section between Jičín and the Loggia was planted; the last part, almost a kilometre long, was never completed.

Reconstruction work has been gradually carried out over recent years, enabling the site to be opened up to the public. The cour d’honneur and the Loggia have been given new roofs, and the Loggia now has a new facade. The terrace and staircase have been repaired and re-paved, the terrace walls of the Libosad have been renovated, as have the interiors of the entire south-west wing of the cour d’honneur, and further reconstruction work is to be carried out.

The Café Loggie was opened in the south-west part of the cour d’honneur in 2015. Throughout the year the whole site hosts regular cultural events, which make the most of the non-traditional dreamy atmosphere of the forgotten summer residence.