Zamość (; ; ) is a historical city in southeastern
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. It is situated in the southern part of
Lublin Voivodeship
Lublin Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in the southeastern part of the country, with its capital being the city of Lublin.
The region is named after its largest city and regional capital, Lu ...
, about from
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
, from
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021.
Zamość was founded in 1580 by
Jan Zamoyski,
Grand Chancellor of Poland, who envisioned an
ideal city. The historical centre of Zamość was added to the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 1992, following a decision of the sixteenth ordinary session of the
World Heritage Committee
The World Heritage Committee is a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Her ...
, held between 7 and 14 December 1992 in
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
, United States; it was recognized for being "a unique example of a
Renaissance town in Central Europe".
Zamość is about from the
Roztocze National Park.
History
Zamość was founded in 1580 by the
Chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
and
Hetman (head of the army of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
),
Jan Zamoyski, on the trade route linking western and northern Europe with the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. Modelled on Italian trading cities, and built during the late-renaissance period by the
Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
n architect
Bernardo Morando, Zamość remains a perfect example of a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
town of the late 16th century. It retains its original street layout, fortifications (
Zamość Fortress
Zamość Fortress () is a set of fortifications constructed together with the city of Zamość (southeastern Poland). It was built between 1579 and 1618, and the construction was initiated by Chancellor and Hetman Jan Zamoyski. It was one of the ...
), and a large number of original buildings blending Venetian and central European architectural traditions.
In the 16th century, the city thrived during its most extensive and fastest period of development. It attracted not only Poles but also other nationalities. In 1594, Jan Zamoyski founded the
Zamoyski Academy in Zamość. The city, however, faced numerous invasions, including a
Cossack siege led by
Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the leader of the uprising against the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
(1648–1654), and another siege during the
Swedish Deluge in 1656. The Swedish army, like the Cossacks, failed to capture the city. Only during the
Great Northern War
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...
was Zamość occupied, by Swedish and Saxon troops.
In the
First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
in 1772 the city was annexed by the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
, forming part of the newly established
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria; the kingdom became a
crown land
Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
upon its formation in 1804. Following the
Austro-Polish War
The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and allied states). In this war, Polish forces of ...
of 1809 the city was incorporated into the short-lived Polish
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
. The 17th Polish Infantry Regiment was formed in Zamość in 1809. In 1815, the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
dissolved the duchy and made Zamość part of the Kingdom of Poland, also called
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
, which was controlled by the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. The city played a considerable role during the
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
in 1830–1831 and surrendered as the last Polish resistance point. The fortress was demolished in 1866, allowing the rapid growth of the city beyond its original limits. During the final stages of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, in 1918, local Poles liberated the city from foreign occupation, shortly before Poland officially regained independence.
World War II
In September 1939, after the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, German
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
planes bombed Zamość several times. Over 250 people were killed, mainly
civilians.
In early September 1939, the Polish government evacuated a portion of the Polish
gold reserve from
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
to Zamość, and then further southeast to
Śniatyn at the Poland-
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
border, from where it was transported via Romania and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
to territory controlled by
Polish-allied France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The city was overrun by the Germans during the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
and the local garrison, staffed by the Polish infantry regiment of ''
podpułkownik'' Stanisław Gumowski, was defeated.
On September 27, 1939, Nazi Germany signed a
border treaty with the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
which had invaded Poland from the east, and, consequently, on September 28, 1939, Zamość was handed over to the Red Army – for about a week. The Soviets withdrew on October 5, 1939, along with some 5,000 Jews after a further demarcation line adjustment. The Germans returned to the city on October 8, 1939
and shortly afterwards mass arrests of prominent citizens began. This was as part of the secret
A-B Action, the deliberate
extermination of Polish intellectuals. The
German Nazis created an execution site in the
Zamość Rotunda,
Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
camp, (in German: ''Gefangenen-Durchgangslager Sicherheitspol'', in English: "The transit camp for Security Police prisoners").
More than 8,000 people were massacred there, including displaced residents of the region. In Zamość, Nazi Germans also created a "Transit Camp" on Okrzei Street, for arrested and displaced inhabitants of the Zamość region (including thousands of children)
and camps
of Soviet prisoners of war captured during
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
.
In 1942, Zamość County, due to its fertile black soil, was chosen for further German colonization in the
General Government
The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
as part of ''
Generalplan Ost'', with the new name of ''Himmlerstadt'', after
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
. The name was later changed to Pflugstadt (Plow City), a reference to the German "plow" that was to "plow the East". Neither name endured.
Local people resisted the German occupiers with great determination; they escaped into the forests, organised self-defence, gave help to those who were
expelled, and rescued
kidnapped Polish children from German hands by bribery (see
Zamość Uprising). The Nazis found it difficult to find many families suitable for settlement in the area, and those who did settle often fled in fear, because the former Polish residents would burn down houses or kill their inhabitants.
In 1942–1943, tens of thousands of inhabitants of the region were
ethnically cleansed by the Nazi occupiers, to make space for German settlers in order to ensure
Germanisation of the area. Most former inhabitants were deported to
forced labor camps in Germany,
Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe.
The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
or
extermination camps such as
Auschwitz,
Majdanek and
Bełżec
Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to ...
.
Post-war period

After World War II, Zamość began a period of development. In the 1970s and 1980s the population grew rapidly (from 39,100 in 1975 to 68,800 in 2003), as the city started to gain significant profits from the old trade routes linking Germany with Ukraine and the ports on the Black Sea. During the years 1975–1998 Zamość was the capital of
Zamość Voivodeship
Zamość Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government (Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship) in Poland in years 1975–1998, superseded by Lublin Voivodeship.
Its capital and largest city was Zamość (population 65 ...
.
Jewish Community
The
Qahal of Zamość was founded in 1588 when Jan Zamoyski agreed to Jewish settlement in the city. The first Jewish settlers were mainly
Sephardi Jews
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
coming from Italy,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. In the 17th century,
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...
also settled in the city and soon became the majority of the Jewish population. The settlement rights given by Jan Zamoyski were re-confirmed in 1684 by
Marcin Zamoyski, the fourth
Ordynat of the Zamość estate.
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Jewish inhabitants were influenced by the Jewish Enlightenment, or
Haskalah
The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Wester ...
. Rabbis forbade the entry of Hasids into Zamosc, until the late nineteenth century. In Zamość there was a Jewish synagogue, two houses of worship, a ritual bathhouse, a hospital and a slaughterhouse. The best preserved remnant of the Jewish community is the now restored
Zamość Synagogue. Zamość was home to many prominent Jews, including poet
Solomon Ettinger (1799–1855) and writer
Isaac Leib Peretz. In 1827, 2,874 Jews lived in the city and this had risen by 1900 to 7,034.
[Databases – Zamość, Poland.](_blank)
JewishGen.org The increase continued, so that by 1921 the Jewish population stood at 9,383 (49.3% of the total population), including significant landowners within the city.
On the eve of World War II, more than 12,500 Jews lived in Zamość; 43 percent of the population of 28,100.
Soon after the handing over to the Germans by the Soviet Union on October 8, 1939, the Nazis instituted the
Judenrat, through which to control the Jews, and in December 1939 created an open ghetto in the Nowa Osada neighbourhood.
Jews deported from the newly formed ''
Warthegau'' province in German-annexed western Poland were transported to Zamość
and in April 1941 the ghetto was moved to the New Town and 7,000 Jews were ordered to relocate there. The ghetto was not enclosed and many Jews escaped to the Soviet Union. It was liquidated before the end of November 1942;
deportations had begun in April, with some 3,000 Jews sent to the
Bełżec extermination camp in a
Holocaust train consisting of 30 cattle cars.
In October, the Nazis shot 500 Jews in the streets and deported 4,000 Jewish prisoners via the
Izbica Ghetto transfer point to
Bełżec
Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to ...
for gassing. They were transported without any food or water. Although the distance was relatively short, the transports would take several days, and many died en route.
The secret
Polish Council to Aid Jews "Żegota", established by the
Polish resistance movement operated in the city.
Armenian Community
In 1585, Jan Zamoyski, the founder of Zamość, granted Armenians permission to settle in the city alongside Sephardic Jews and Greeks, aiming to foster economic and cultural diversity. The Armenian community, though smaller than the Jewish population, played a significant role in Zamość’s development, particularly in trade and craftsmanship, leveraging their established mercantile networks across Poland and the Ottoman Empire. By the 17th century, prosperous Armenian merchants, such as Gabriel Bartoszewicz and Torosz, constructed iconic tenement houses on Ormiańska Street, adjacent to the Great Market Square. These buildings, including the red "Under the Angel" House and the blue "Under The Married Couple" House, feature Eastern-influenced Renaissance architecture with stone crosses, floral motifs, and biblical scenes, reflecting Armenian sacred art blended with local styles.
Ormiańska Street’s five tenement houses, built between 1630 and 1674, remain a hallmark of Zamość’s UNESCO World Heritage status, with some now housing the Zamość Museum.
The Armenian community likely maintained religious practices, possibly through a chapel or shared worship spaces, though records are sparse. Their contributions enriched Zamość’s multicultural fabric until their presence diminished in the 18th century due to economic shifts and assimilation. Today, Ormiańska Street stands as a testament to their enduring architectural and cultural legacy, attracting visitors to its vibrant history.
Architecture
Most historic buildings are located in the Old Town, whose main distinguishing features have been retained. It includes the regular Great Market Square (''Rynek Wielki'') of 100 x 100 metres with the splendid
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
(''Ratusz'') and the so-called "Armenian houses", as well as fragments of the original fortress and fortifications, including those of the Russian occupation in the 19th century.
[A. Kędziora: Encyklopedia miasta Zamościa. Chełm: Towarzystwo Opieki nad Zabytkami, 2000] (The destroyed sections of fortifications have been largely rebuilt to restore the city's appearance.)
It is often called "the new Padua".
Jan Zamoyski commissioned the
Venetian (from Padua) architect Bernardo Morando to design the city, based upon the
anthropomorphic concept. Its "head" was to be the Zamoyski Palace, "backbone" Grodzka Street, crossing the Great Market Square from east to west, in the direction of the palace, and with the "arms" embodied by 10 streets intersecting the main streets: Solna Street (north of the Great Market Square) and Bernardo Morando Street (south of the Great Market Square). In these streets, the other squares were placed: Salt Square (''Rynek Solny'') and Water Square (''Rynek Wodny''), functioning as the "internal organs" of the city whereas the bastions are the "hands and legs" for self-defence.
The most prominent building is the Town Hall, built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, following Bernardo Morando's design. In 1639–1651, Jan Jaroszewicz and Jan Wolff redesigned the structure. They enlarged the edifice and added three storeys with a high
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
. The façades were built in accordance with
Mannerist proportions, regular divisions and excessive architectural décor. The 18th century witnessed the construction of a guardroom and a fan-shaped double stairway, built in front of the building. In 1770 a slender dome with a
lantern
A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...
was added to the top of the tower.
The Town Hall stands on the north side of the Great Market Square, regarded as one of the most beautiful 16th-century squares in Europe. It is surrounded by a complex of
arcaded houses built by the richest Zamość merchants. It is a square, measuring exactly 100 metres in both width and length, crossed by the two main axes of the old town. The 600-metre longitudinal axis goes east–west: from Bastion No. 7 to the Zamoyski Palace. The 400-metre crosswise axis goes north–south, linking the Great Market Square with the two smaller market squares: Solny and Wodny.

The red "Under the Angel" House at 26 Ormiańska street (Armenian street) was built in the early 1630s by a rich Armenian merchant, Gabriel Bartoszewicz. It is embellished with a carved figure of the founder's saint patron, the Archangel Gabriel holding a lily. The walls of the second floor are decorated with lions and a dragon, illustrating that the lions should protect the house against the evil embodied by the dragon. The house is the seat of the Zamość Museum.

The brightly coloured houses are vital to the square's character. The yellow "Under The Madonna" House at 22 Ormiańska street (Armenian Street) features the Madonna with the baby Jesus; showing the Madonna standing on a dragon. Built by a
Lwów merchant, Sołtan Sachwelowicz, in the 17th century, the house has been refurbished recently to expose its façade. A high
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
has been reconstructed on the basis of old photographs. At present the house is the venue of the Bernardo Morando Fine Arts State Secondary School.
The "Under St. Casimir" House was erected in the 17th century and was owned alternately by Polish chemists and Armenian merchants. The façade of the house is embellished with a figure of
St. Casimir, the saint patron of the new owner – Kazimierz Lubecki.
Built at the beginning of the 17th century, the green Wilczek House at 30 Ormiańska Street (Armenian Street) displays a Baroque decor, including a relief featuring St. John the Baptist and St. Thomas the Apostle with three spears. The house was remodelled in 1665–1674 by Jan Wilczek, a town councillor.
The blue "Under The Married Couple" House, also known as the "Sapphire" House, at 24 Ormiańska street (Armenian Street) was built in the second quarter of the 17th century by an Armenian merchant, Torosz. The façade includes a geometrical and plant frieze whereas the parapet is decorated with grotesque figures of a married couple.
The Link House at 5 Rynek Wielki street (Great Market Street) was erected at the end of the 17th century with all the features of the Baroque style. A Polish architect Jan Michał Link decorated the façade of the house with fluted Ionic columns. The tops of the windows were embellished with the carved busts of two mythological warriors: Minerva wearing a basinet and Hercules dressed in lion skins. Under the windows there is a frieze featuring laurel and palm branches – symbols of glory and victory. The pilasters include wall-trophies – weapons and armours.
Called also the "Chemist's House", the Piechowicz House maintains a 350-year-old tradition. Namely the building, which was built by Szymon Piechowicz from
Turobin
Turobin is a town in Biłgoraj County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Turobin. It lies approximately north of Biłgoraj and south of the regional capital Lublin.
History ...
, a chemist and a professor of medicine at the Zamoyski Academy, still houses a pharmacy. The shop is fitted with a set of 19th-century dark, oak cabinets.
Constructed by Bernardo Morando for an Italian merchant in the 1590s, also called the Telanowski house, the Zamoyski house belonged to
Jan Zamoyski (1599–1657). The house has four arcades, a frieze placed under the windows and a parapet. It was supposed to be a model for other houses located on the square.
The construction of the Second Morando Tenement House started around 1590. It was designed by
Bernardo Morando who placed Italian-style regular four-window façade with arcades. The windows are ornamented by a frieze with rosettes. Another frieze is situated on the side wall, showing a combination of rectangles and ovals.
The Abrek House was built for a professor of the Zamoyski Academy, Stanisław Rosiński. In 1636 the house was bought by another professor of the Zamoyski Academy,
Andrzej Abrek who turned it into a splendid edifice with an arcaded portal, triangular top and three stone doors in the hallway.

Built at the end of the 16th century, the Szczebrzeszyn House belonged to the town of
Szczebrzeszyn. Its function was to keep Szczebrzeszyn's treasures and assets safely within the protection of Zamość fortress. The house has four windows, arcades and a richly ornamented
finial in the form of a
cartouche, which reputedly enclosed Szczebrzeszyn's coat of arms.
Built, the Turobin House was built in the 1600s in line with Bernardo Morando's design for the town of Turobin which used to be part of Zamość Entail. It is embellished with many Renaissance decorations based on Italian models taken from
Sebastiano Serlio's books. Its façade has a frieze featuring a system of geometrical figures.
The cathedral (a former collegiate church until 1992) was founded by
Jan Zamoyski and dedicated to the Lord's Resurrection and St. Thomas the Apostle. It was built in 1587–1598 by Bernardo Morando. It is 45 metres long and 30 metres wide; the Cathedral constitutes one of the most impressive sacral buildings in Poland. Full of numerous side chapels, thin pillars and a fine vaulted presbytery, it prides itself in original interior decor and rich
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
decorations, an 18th-century
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
tabernacle and many paintings of Italian and Polish painters. In the church's vault, there are crypts with the ashes of 16 Zamość entailers and those of their families.
Built in the Baroque style in the second half of the 18th century, the Cathedral Bell Tower is a separate and prominent structure. It was erected to Jerzy de Kawe's design. The passageway is decorated with plaques commemorating the martyrdom of the inhabitants of Zamość Region during World War II. In the bell tower there are three historic bells: "Jan" – the biggest and the oldest one, named after its benefactor
Jan "Sobiepan" Zamoyski, "Tomasz" founded by
Tomasz Józef Zamoyski in 1721 and "Wawrzyniec" founded by Wawrzyniec Sikorski in 1715.
The Redemptorists' Church of St. Nicholas is the former Orthodox church built in 1618–1631. The project was drafted by Jan Jaroszewicz whereas the decorations were designed by Jan Wolff. The domed temple had a defensive purpose. In the 1690s a tower with a Baroque dome was added. The building has features typical of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
n Orthodox churches and Latin architecture.
Built in the 1680s in the Baroque style in line with J. M. Link's design, St. Catherine's Church was first dedicated to Saint
Peter of Alcantara but in the 1920s it became an academic church dedicated to Saint
Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...
. During World War II, the
''Prussian Homage'' (; 1879−1882), the famous historical painting of
Prussian Tribute, by
Jan Matejko
Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...
, was transferred secretly from
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
and hidden in the vault of St. Catherine's to protect it from the German occupiers.
Tomasz Zamoyski, the second entailer, and his wife Katarzyna built the
Franciscan Church Dedicated to The Annunciation in the Baroque style. The biggest temple in Zamość (56 metres long and 29 metres wide), it was regarded as one of the most prominent 17th-century churches in Poland. It was embellished with a very rich décor by Jan Michał Link. In 1784 the Austrians closed down the
Franciscan Order
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
and as a result the church lost its sacral function for many years, housing a cinema and secondary school. In 1993 the building was restored as a church again.
Education
Zamość prides itself in the long history of educational services. The
Zamoyski Academy (1594–1784) was an academy founded in 1594 by Polish Crown Chancellor Jan Zamoyski. It was the third institution of higher education to be founded in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
.
The academy was an institution midway between a secondary school and an institution of higher learning that bestowed doctorates of philosophy and law. It was known for the high quality of education that it provided, which however did not extend beyond the ideals of "nobles"' liberty.
After Zamoyski's death, it slowly lost its importance, and in 1784 it was downgraded to a
lyceum. The present-day I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Jana Zamoyskiego is one of several secondary schools in Zamość.

In modern Zamość there are 9 secondary schools: 7 public (numbered from 1 to 7), one Catholic and one Social school. In addition, there are 10 primary schools: 8 public (numbered from 2 – 4 and from 6–10) as well as a Catholic and a Social primary school.
High schools
* I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im.
Jana Zamoyskiego
* II Liceum Ogólnokształcąse im.
M. Konopnickiej
* III Liceum Ogólnokształcące im.
K. C. Norwida
* IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im Armi Krajowej
Technikum
* Zespół szkół ponadgimnazjalnych 1 Ekonomik
* Zespół szkół ponadgimnazjalnych 2 Mechanik
* Zespół szkół ponadgimnazjalnych 3 Elektryk
* Zespół szkół ponadgimnazjalnych 4 Budowlanka
* Zespół szkół ponadgimnazjalnych 5 Rolniczak
Colleges
* Akademia Zamojska w Zamościu
* Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczno-Ekonomiczna im.
Jana Zamoyskiego
* Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania i Administracji
* Zespół Kolegiów Nauczycielskich w Zamościu
Economy
The city is located on the
broad gauge railway line linking the former Soviet Union with
Upper Silesian coal and sulphur mines as well as less than 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the border crossings to
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. Zamość is also located on a
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
rail line, although it is not electrified. The economy of the city is based on services which is why it is dominated by numerous small and medium-sized enterprises. However, there are some large production plants, mainly food factories and companies, that reflect the regional dominance of agriculture. These include the Zamojskie Wheat Company (Zamojskie Zakłady Zbożowe), the Animex fodder company, the Mors frozen food producer, and a daughter company of the Dairy in
Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw is a town in southeastern Poland with 18,630 inhabitants (31 December 2019). It is the capital of Krasnystaw County in the Lublin Voivodeship.
The town is famous for its beer festival called ''Chmielaki'' ( means hops, hop), and for i ...
.
The city is also a centre of expertise for agriculture and a market for various agricultural products. In addition, the other companies include a daughter company of the
Black Red White furniture company (former Zamojskie Furniture Company), the Spomasz Zamość SA industrial and metal hardware producer, the SIPMOT agricultural machinery producer (a branch of the SIPMA Group from
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
and a branch of Stalprodukt (former Metalplast) – producer of metal hardware and equipment from
Bochnia, listed on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Culture

The Old Town and the remnants of the old Zamość Fortress constitute an urban complex inscribed on the
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. Zamość hosts the following cultural events: concerts of music performed by the Karol Namysłowski Symphonic Orchestra in Zamość and by Polish artists representing different kinds of music, Zamość Days of Music (Zamojskie Dni Muzyki) and International Meetings of Jazz Singers (Międzynarodowe Spotkania Wokalistów Jazzowych), which is a tribute to
Mieczysław Kosz, a great blind jazz player and composer who used to combine his jazz music with the Polish folk.
''Jazz na Kresach'' is a very popular annual music festival that dates back to 1982 and has been held since. The festival is organised in Zamość Old Town by the Zamość Jazz Club to commemorate
Mieczysław Kosz.
The Zamość Festival of Mark Grechuta aims at commemorating his works. He was a composer, singer and poet. The festival has already taken place 3 times: 7–8 September 2007, 6–7 September 2008, 4–6 September 2009. The laureates of the competition and various well-known musicians sang at this festival. The festival is held in Zamość Great Market.
In addition, there are the open-air performances of the Zamość Summer Theatre (Zamojskie Lato Teatralne) and the annual "EUROFOLK" International Folk Festival. There are the Summer Film Academy and the "SACROFILM" International Religious Film Days.
Geography
Climate
The climate is warm-summer
humid continental (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfb''), typical of
eastern Poland.
Sports

Zamość is home to several sport clubs, the most prominent being
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
team Padwa Zamość,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team
Hetman Zamość, and multi-sports club with
athletics,
archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...
, cycling, weightlifting, wrestling and sumo sections.
Notable people
*
Tauba Biterman (1918–2019), Holocaust survivor who dedicated her adult life to teaching and sharing memories of the Holocaust
*
Joseph Epstein (1911–1944), Polish-born Jewish communist activist and a French Resistance leader during World War II
*
Solomon Ettinger (1802–1856), Yiddish- and Hebrew-language playwright, poet and writer of songs and fables
*
Marek Grechuta (1945–2006), Polish singer, songwriter, composer, and lyricist
*
Anna Jakubczak (born 1973), Polish middle-distance runner
*
Irene Lieblich (1923–2008), Polish-born artist and Holocaust survivor noted for illustrating the books of Nobel laureate
Isaac Bashevis Singer and for her paintings highlighting Jewish life and culture
*
Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919), Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen
*
Adam Niklewicz (born 1957), American sculptor and illustrator
*
Zbigniew Nowosadzki (born 1957), Polish painter
*
Isaac Leib Peretz (1852–1915), Yiddish language author and playwright
*
Mateusz Prus (born 1990), professional footballer
*
Leopold Skulski (1878–1940), Prime Minister of Poland from 1919 to 1920
*
Mordechai Strigler (1921–1998), Yiddish writer
*
Przemysław Tytoń
Przemysław Tytoń (; born 4 January 1987) is a Polish professional association football, footballer who plays as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Eredivisie club FC Twente, Twente.
Club career
Born in Zamość, Tytoń playe ...
(born 1987), Polish goalkeeper
*
Gryzelda Konstancja Zamoyska (1623–1672), wife of
Jeremi Wiśniowiecki and the mother of Polish King
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (Michael I)
*
Jan "Sobiepan" Zamoyski (1627–1665), 3rd
Ordynat of the
Ordynacja Zamojska estates
*
Aleksander Zederbaum (1816–1893), Polish-Russian Jewish journalist, founder and editor of
Ha-Meliẓ
''HaMelitz'' (Hebrew: ) was the first Hebrew newspaper in the Russian Empire. It was founded by Alexander Zederbaum in Odessa in 1860.
History
''HaMelitz'' first appeared as a weekly, and it began to appear daily in 1886. From 1871, it was publish ...
, and other periodicals published in Russian and Yiddish
*
Szymon Szymonowic (1558–1629), Polish humanist, poet associated with Grand Hetman and Royal Chancellor Jan Zamoyski, with whom in 1593–1605 he organized the
Zamoyski Academy
*
Bernardo Morando (–1600), Italian architect, author of a new town of Zamość, mayor of Zamość
*
Stanisław Staszic (1755–1826), Polish priest, philosopher, statesman, geologist, scholar, poet and writer, a leader of the Polish Enlightenment. He was a tutor for the children of
Andrzej Zamoyski, the 10th
Ordynat of the
Ordynacja Zamojska estates
[Andrzej Kędziora "Encyklopedia Ludzi Zamościa", Zamość 2007]
*
Bolesław Leśmian (1877–1937), Polish poet, artist and member of the Polish Academy of Literature, one of the most influential poets of the early 20th century in Poland. He lived and worked as a lawyer (notary) in Zamość
*
Jacob ben Wolf Kranz (1741–1804), rabbi known for his instructive lessons based on Jewish tradition
*
Walerian Łukasiński (1786–1868), Polish officer and political activist, sentenced by Russian Imperial authorities to 14 years' imprisonment, he was never released and died after 46 years. He spent 7 years in the
tsarist prison in Zamość.
*
Simeon of Poland, Polish-Armenian priest and traveler
Literature
Fritz Stuber, "Notes on the Revalorization of Historic Towns in Poland", in ''Ekistics (Athens)'', Vol. 49, No. 295, 1982, pp. 336–341, 3 ill.
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Zamość is
twinned with
OWHC cities as well as:
;Friendship agreements
*
Cassino
Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone at the southern end of the region of Lazio. It's the last city of the Valle Latina, Latin Valley.
It is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari (river), Gari and ...
, Italy
*
Sumy, Ukraine
See also
*
Seven Wonders of Poland
*
List of World Heritage Sites in Poland
The UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural heritage, cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, establish ...
*
Apteka Rektorska,
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
Rector's Pharmacy located at the Main Square 2 in the Old Town, the oldest pharmacy in Poland operating continuously since 1609
*
Zamość railway station
References
External links
Zamość city websiteOld City of ZamośćUNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
Wonders of ZamoscZespół Kolegiów Nauczycielskich w ZamościuKamienice ormiańskie Камяниці Вірменські Հայկական տներ*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Lublin Voivodeship
Planned communities in Poland
Populated places established in 1580
City counties of Poland
1580 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland
Holocaust locations in Poland
Intelligenzaktion massacre locations