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THE FORTRESS YESTERDAY
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Zamość Fortress, one of the largest fortresses in the First Republic of Poland and then in the Duchy of Warsaw and in the Congress Kingdom of Poland, was built in 1579-1618 to defend a town founded by Hetman Jan Zamoyski in 1580. Started in 1586 and completed in 1618, the construction of bastioned fortifications was based on Bernardo Morando’s design.
The fortifications were modernized several times by the following outstanding military engineers:
Plan of the interior of Zamość Fortress of 1827, perfectly showing the historical, Renaissance urban layout.
  • Andrea dell’Aqua in 1618-23
  • Jan Michał Link in 1687-93
  • Colonel Jean-Baptiste Mallet (later during his service in the Congress Kingdom of Poland known as General Jan Mallet-Malletski) in 1809-13 and 1817-26
Modernization works lasted till 1856. In 1866 -1868, on the order of Tsar Alexander II, the fortress was closed down and most of its fortifications were demolished.
Their preserved remains have been maintained (with some elements being supplemented) since the 1930s till the present day.
Zamość is an excellent example of a town which has preserved its original urban layout of an “ideal Renaissance town” with fortifications and buildings being a unique combination of features of Italian architecture and the local artistic tradition. A private town of Chancellor and Herman Jan Zamoyski, Zamość was founded in 1580 on the basis of the best Italian models of an “ideal town”. Few corrections resulted only from the lie of the land. The layout of the town, fortifications and major buildings were designed by Bernardo Morando, an architect from Padua, Italy. The typical one-storey market houses, topped with parapet walls and equipped in arcades, were also his idea. Commercial character of Zamość was emphasised by the Town Hall embedded in one of market frontages and houses with shops and storehouses in the basements. Access to commercial facilities was easier thanks to the arcades surrounding the market and running along the main streets of the town.

  • .Plan of the interior of Zamość Fortress of 1827, perfectly showing the historical, Renaissance urban layout. . Military buildings were indicated with light blue colour. These included both the palace, the building of Academy of Zamość as well as the town hall. You should notice that there is no retrenchments at Bastion no 6

    Military buildings were indicated with light blue colour. These included both the palace, the building of Academy of Zamość as well as the town hall. You should notice that there is no retrenchments at Bastion no 6

  • Market of Zamość with the town hall, as a military structure (visible barriers and guard booths) – on the watercolor by Jan Paweł Lelewel.