Jičín consists of 12 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):[2] The origin of the name Jičín is unknown, but according to the most probable hypotheses, it was derived from the German name of Queen Judith of Habsburg Guta, or from Dičín, derived from the Old Czech word dík (meaning 'wild boar', of which many lived here).

[4] The town of Jičín was founded in the 13th century on the place of the village Staré Místo near the Veliš Castle.

It was moved northward to its present location shortly afterward, which was better protected by the Cidlina River.

The first written mention of Jičín comes from a document by Queen Judith of Habsburg, the wife of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, dated 1 August 1293.

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.

[3] Jičín was first the royal town, but in 1337 King John of Bohemia sold it to the Wartenberg family, who owned it until the middle of the 15th century.

After a large fire in 1572, most of the wooden houses were replaced by stone Renaissance buildings, often decorated with sgrafitti; the parish church was rebuilt as well.

He had the castle and the Church of St. James rebuilt completely in the North-Italian style and connected them via a roofed footbridge.

[3] In 1710 the town became a property of the House of Trauttmansdorff, which meant the arrival of the period of High Baroque, during which many constructions were completed.

[9] Jičín is connected with the popular fairy tale character, Robin Hood-like robber Rumcajs.

[10] The historic centre is built around a rectangular square with a regular Gothic street layout, remnants of fortifications and arcade Renaissance and Baroque houses.

[11] North of the town is the Baroque summer house of Albrecht von Wallenstein called Valdštejnská Loggia.