The occupation of the castle by the Hussites, robber knights, frequent changes of owners in the 15th century, was the cause that the originally promontory castle was divided into two castles.
In the back part, the so-called typical rock castle separated with a complicated entrance from below to the top of the rock plateau.
Catherine of Strážnice and Štítary, the mistress of Hynek, son of King George of Poděbrady, ended the residential function of the castle at the end of the 15th century. Wallenstein was abandoned by its owners.
The burned-out and destroyed castle was restored to new glory by the Wallenstein family, who owned it for the next 200 years after Albrecht of Wallenstein. In the 18th century, they built an unusual pilgrimage site with a unique atmosphere in the environment of the old ruins of the family residence, the surrounding forests and rocks.
This effort was continued by the new owners, the Lexs of Aehrenthal, in the first half of the 19th century. They connected the landscape with a network of hiking trails, built lookouts, the Sedmihorky spa. As an interesting tourist destination, they made Wallenstein Castle one of the first monuments in our country and completed the ancient environment with romantic modifications.
At present, Wallenstein Castle is owned by the Town of Turnov, which takes very good care of its monument. The castle is visited by more than 60,000 tourists a year.
