Zamość

Zamość (German: Zamosch) is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants (2004), situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship (since 1999), about 90 km (55.92 mi) from Lublin, 247 km (153.48 mi) from Warsaw and 60 km (37.28 mi) from the border with Ukraine. About 20 kilometres from the town is the Roztocze National Park.

Before the outbreak of World War II, more than 12,500 Jews lived in Zamosc, accounting for 43 percent of its population.

The historical city centre was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List (in 1992) as a result of the decision taken during the sixteenth ordinary session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, from 7 to 14 December 1992.

In the view of UNESCO, "Zamość is a unique example of a Renaissance town in Central Europe, consistently designed and built in accordance with the Italian theories of the "ideal town," on the basis of a plan which was the result of perfect cooperation between the open-minded founder, Jan Zamoyski, and the outstanding architect, Bernardo Morando. Zamość is an outstanding example of an innovative approach to town planning, combining the functions of an urban ensemble, a residence, and a fortress in accordance with a consistently implemented Renaissance concept. The result of this is a stylistically homogeneous urban composition with a high level of architectural and landscape values. A real asset of this great construction was its creative enhancement with local artistic architectural achievements. Zamość is spoken of as a Renaissance town. However, on the one hand, Morando himself must have had Mannerist training, and on the other, in all the countries of Central Europe (Poland, Bohemia, Slovakia, Hungary, certain German regions and, in part, Austria proper), Italian Renaissance architecture had been well assimilated and adapted to local traditions since the 15th century. Consequently, Zamość was planned as a town in which the Mannerist taste mingled with certain Central European urban traditions, such as the arcaded galleries that surround the squares and create a sheltered passage in front of the shops."