ACTIVE TOURISM Foot trails


Jičín - Libosad

 1. Jičín square - Libosad (2 km) - below the Zebín hill (2,5 km) - Kbelnice (4,5 km) - Jičín square (6,5 km)
2. Jičín square - Libosad (2 km) - Valdice (3 km) - below the Zebín hill (4 km) - Kbelnice (6 km) - Jičín square (8 km)

  Jičín is a district town which was mentioned for the first time in 1293 as the goods of Bohemian queens. It belonged to the Vartenberks and Smiřickýs. It reached its peak at the beginning of the 17th century when the generalissimo of the Austrian army, Albrecht of Wallenstein, wanted Italian architects to help him make Jičín the capital of his Frýdlant estate. At that time, the first early Baroque landscape composition in Bohemia was created there. On June 29, 1866 the battle between the Austrian and Prussian armies finished in the streets of the town. Jičín is the birthplace of the writer Josef Štefan Kubín, of the author of girls' novels Stanislav Rudolf and of the actor Zdeněk Řehoř. His stay in Jičín inspired Václav Čtvrtek to write a series of fairy-tales about the highway man Rumcajs and other fairy tales which were given their cartoon-image by the painter Radek Pilař. These days, Jičín holds the festival "Jičín - the town of fairy-tale" every September.
  Our wandering around Jičín starts at the Valdštejnovo square where there is a Baroque Marian pillar dating back to 1702, coronation Empire well dating back to 1836 and a fountain with the sculpture of Amphitrite by the sculptor Sucharda dating back to 1837. In the south-eastern corner of the square there is a large Baroque mansion which these days houses the District Museum and the Gallery. The negotiations between the Austrian Emperor Franz I and the representatives of Prussia and Russia took place in the mansion in June 1813. These negotiations resulted in forming the Holy Alliance directed against Napoleon before his crushing defeat at Leipzig. Nearby there is the Church of St Jacob the Greater which is a torso of the intended bishop cathedral built by Albrecht of Wallenstein in 1627 - 34. The square is dominated by the Valdice Gate dating back to 1568-70. The tower is 52 m high and there is a beautiful view of the surroundings from its gallery. The houses at the Valdštejnovo square are mostly of the Renaissance and Baroque styles. The arcades have been preserved in all four sides of the square.
  Walk from the square through the Valdice Gate. Behind it, there is a marked cross-road from which you will follow the red trail past the fountain along the Havlíček Street. Behind the District Office you will reach the edge of the linden alley which is one of the most preserved elements of the Wallenstein's early Baroque composed landscape. The alley is 1.7 km long and is created by some 1200 lindens. Follow the red tourist trail, on the left you can see the former barracks and on the right there is municipal sports grounds. At the end of the valley we recommend to visit the Libosad with the Wallenstein loggia which dates back to 1630-34. It was originally a garden with a game park linked to the building of the honorary court and to the loggia - sala terrena where the nobility was supposed to find entertaining. In the northern corner of the park there is a romantic hermitage. Today the whole grounds are being repaired. You can continue along our red trail to Valdice or shorten the trip following the yellow connecting trail below the Zebín hill.
  The red trail continues to Valdice. Later, you will continue from the cross-roads with the blue trail along the blue below the Zebín hill, but before you can have a look at the square where you can approach the building of the former Carthusian monastery which was founded by Albrecht of Wallenstein as a part of the whole grounds. The main building used to be the Church of Ascension of Virgin Mary where there were the remains of the founder before their transfer to Mnichovo Hradiště. The monastery was closed down by the emperor Josef II in 1782 and in 1855 - 56 it was rebuilt and turned into a prison. It has been used as prison up to these days. From the prison you have to return to the cross-roads with the blue trail and continue along it following the slope of the Zebín hill to the grounds consisting of a cemetery, church and a wooden polygonal belfry where our trail meets again the yellow connecting trail which comes directly from Libosad. Lovers of beautiful views can undertake the rather demanding ascent to the top of the basalt Zebín hill which is of typical conic shape. On the top, there is a Baroque chapel of St. Mary Magdalene from which there is a breathtaking panoramic view. In the western side of the hill there is an abandoned quarry. When you return to the church, continue along the blue trail past a farm where horses are bred. Pass the former military training ground to the cross-roads with the yellow trail which you will follow to the right to Kbelnice. Before entering the hamlet, cross the small Cidlina river which has its source nearby below the Tábor hill. In Kbelnice you will reach the cross-roads with the blue trail. Follow it, turn left and return to Jičín. Lovers of military history can find many historical sights in the surroundings of Kbelnice, reminding us of the battle between the Austrian and Prussian armies which took place here on June 29, 1866. Our trail continues along the blue trail along the Cidlina to the edge of Jičín. Pass near the gardens and the municipal swimming-pool to the dike of the Kníže pond. Turn left at the gallery called Na hrázi and together with the red trail you will reach Lepař Grammar School. Turn right here together with tourist trails and walking along the Palackého street you will reach the Valdštejnovo square (6.5 km - through Valdice 8 km).