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.
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.
Bastion III is the only bastion* in Zamość Fortress which survived till the beginning of the 19th century in the same form in which it had been designed almost one and a half century earlier. Nowadays the form that the bastion had during the Congress Kingdom of Poland has been restored. We know that the bastion was probably under construction in 1606 and that it was damaged in the second half of the 17th century. It was built on marshy ground, causing a lot of construction problems and its damage resulted from uneven settlement of the ground. Damage caused by this factor also affected fortifications facilities elsewhere. Perhaps it was necessary to restore the bastion’s defensive properties quickly and that is why, in accordance with the principles of fortification art, the damaged fragment was cut off; as a result, two small bastions were created at the site (they can be seen on Jonsac’s plan). In 1685-1694 the bastion was thoroughly remodelled by Jan Michał Link in accordance with the principles of the French school (obtuse angles between the flanks* were made and storeyed* flanks without orillons*). As a result, the bastion became a powerful cannon stand for at least 20 guns (excluding the cannons in the flank casemates*), significantly increasing the forefront of the Szczebrzeska Gate. With time, gardens that are presented on Austrian plans dating from the end of the 18th century could have been made on the platform of the bastion. It was modernized at the time of the Duchy of Warsaw, then by J. Mallet- Malletski in 1817-23 and probably later. In the parts of the flanks adjacent to the curtain walls, new, huge, masonry casemates were made and the level of the flanks was elevated. Embrasures* were made in the faces of the bastion and in 1842 a powder magazine was built on the bastion. When the fortress was closed down, the walls of the bastion were blown up. Fortunately, the outline of earth forms dating back to the times of J.M.Link has been preserved; it is the only fragment of Zamość fortifications which has retained the elements of the Polish solution dating back to King Jan III Sobieski’s time. The other bastions were remodelled in the 19th century and their forms were significantly altered.
