Jičín

Jičín (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪtʃiːn]; German: Titschein, Gitschin or Jitschin; Latin: Gitmiacinum, Gitzinum;Polish: Jiczyn) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It lies approximately 85 km northeast of Prague in the scenic region of the Bohemian Paradise (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 street layout, remnants of fortifications and arcade Renaissance and Baroque 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 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. 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). 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 (disambiguation)

Jičín is a city in the Hradec Králové Region, Czech Republic.

Jičín may also refer to:

Jian

The jian (simplified Chinese: 剑; traditional Chinese: 劍; pinyin: jiàn; Cantonese: Gim) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (18 to 31 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimetre (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds). There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts.

Professional jian practitioners are referred to as jianke (Chinese: 剑客; pinyin: jiànkè; literally: "sword guests" or "swordsmen"; a term dating from the Han dynasty).

In Chinese folklore, it is known as "The Gentleman of Weapons" and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff), Qiang (spear), and the Dao (sabre). These swords are also sometimes referred to as taijijian or "t'ai chi swords", reflecting their current use as training weapons for taijiquan practitioners, though there were no historical jian types created specifically for taijiquan.