Old City of Zamość, Poland

An important figure in Polish history, Jan Zamoyski was educated in France and Italy. After returning to Poland as an adult, he held a series of major political roles, including that of chancellor. He became a powerful magnate, with a great deal of wealth at his disposal.

Zamoyski decided to use his wealth to finance the creation of a new town, which would be located on the trade route linking western and northern Europe with the Black Sea, and was conceived from the beginning as a trade-based economic centre. 

In line with Zamoyski’s wishes, Morando planned a town which would be modern, self-sufficient and multi-functional, combining the roles of an urban complex, a residence and a fortress, all the while adhering to the concepts of the Renaissance model of Italian trading cities.

He organised the area into two distinct parts, with Zamoyski’s palace, where the city’s founder lived with his family, in the west, and the town, which was located around three squares, in the east. 

The Great Market Square was built when the town was first founded, and was centrally located at the junction of the city’s two main streets. The colourful and richly decorated townhouses which line the four sides of the square were home to the town’s richest merchants.

These two-storey houses, which also included an attic, were built with impressive arcades that protected the residents from the sun in summer and the rain and snow in the winter; buildings located away from the central town square were lower and more modest in form.

The north side of the square is dominated by the magnificent Town Hall. The most important building in the Old Town of Zamość, it has a six-storey clock tower, which reaches a height of 52 metres, and a monumental fan-shaped staircase that leads to the building’s main entrance.

The town’s Collegiate Church (now a cathedral), built between 1587 and 1598, is one of the most magnificent works of modern Polish architecture. It represented a sign of gratitude from Zamoyski for his numerous victories while serving as the chief of the Polish armed forces.

It became the location where subsequent lords of the manor would be “crowned”, as well as being a mausoleum for the deceased members of the Zamoyski family, including Jan Zamoyski himself, when he passed away in 1605. Bernardo Morando was also laid to rest here, in 1600.

Zamość’s various churches were not the town’s only religious buildings – intended from the outset to be multinational, the town had a high religious tolerance. Living in harmony with the local population, Armenians and Jews had their own communities, districts and temples. 

Further nationalities, including Hungarians, Germans and the British, were attracted by the town’s economic development and, together with the local population, they formed a multi-coloured urban community, thus shaping the city’s unique character.

Over the years, the city was the subject of a number of attacks, some successful but some not, thanks to the bastion fortifications that Bernardo Morando designed and built around the town, from 1585 onwards. He would eventually add an arsenal and various fortified gates. 

It was finally closed down in 1866, and large sections of it were demolished although some parts remain and are still visible today.

Minor modifications that were carried out in the town during the Baroque period did not disrupt its composition, but rather enriched it. What’s more, the fact that Zamość was not damaged during World War II, unlike many other Polish towns, means it is today relatively unchanged.

Criterion (iv): Zamość is an outstanding example of a Renaissance planned town of the late 16th century, which retains its original layout and fortifications and a large number of buildings of particular interest, blending Italian and Central European architectural traditions.