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:
- 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.
The panorama of a Renaissance town, just like its planning, had to be “ideal”, regularly and almost symmetrically uplifted. One reason why towns were located near water bodies was for the sheet to reflect and multiply their panoramas. Water was also important for defensive reasons; it provided a possibility for flooding the surrounding areas and making mud obstacles. For besiegers such a town looked from a distance like a powerful mass of fortifications topped with greenery and soaring towers. It seemed easy to identify the particular elements of the town and determine the key shooting targets. However, artillery range was limited at that time. When a besieger approached the town, all crucial buildings and facilities hid behind embankments and trees and became invisible. This is what the power and magnificence of a Renaissance town and its panorama consisted in.
