Frýdlant is one of the largest and most important monument complexes in northern Bohemia. It combines two architectural formations: a medieval castle and a Renaissance chateau. The castle was built around the middle of the 13th century. In 1278 , the estate was acquired by the Bibrštejn family, who significantly participated in the construction of the massive castle palace. In the years 1558 – 1621 , Frýdlant belonged to the Redern family. They continued to improve the Frýdlat estate. They were skilled farmers and warriors, but also builders and supporters of the arts. Their work is the construction of a new Renaissance chateau and chapel.
Between 1622 and 1634 , Frýdlant belonged to Albrecht of Wallenstein. He bought it for 150,000 guldens and gradually built a huge economic domain. His estates experienced a huge boom during the Thirty Years’ War, because they supplied his army. The Frýdlant region was called Terra felix – Happy Land.
After Albrecht’s assassination in 1634 , the Frýdlant Gallas family, and from 1757 the Clam-Gallas family, an important nobility in diplomatic and military service at the imperial court, received from the emperor. They stayed here until 1945, when Frýdlant passed to the state.
The original appearance of the Gothic castle has not been preserved in its entirety to this day. Today we see the castle as a massive two-storey building around a small irregular courtyard, dominated by a large cylindrical tower, bergfrit. The castle gradually expanded and during the 16th century it underwent two Renaissance modifications. The chapel and the Renaissance chateau were built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries by Marco Spazzio di Lancio. In the 60s of the 19th century, the last major construction work took place , namely on the reconstruction of the castellan wing.
