Zamość - Architecture

Architecture

The most historic buildings are located in the Old Town. The main distinguishing features of the Old Town have been well preserved since its establishment. It includes the regular Great Market Square of 100 x 100 meters with the splendid Townhall and so-called Armenian houses, as well as the fragments of the original fortress and fortifications, including those from the period of the Russian occupation in the 19th century.

Jan Zamoyski commissioned the Italian architect Bernardo Morando to design the city that would be based on the anthropomorphic concept. Its "head" was to be the Zamoyski palace, "backbone" Grodzka Street, crossing the Great Market Square from east to west, in the direction of the palace, and with the "arms" embodied by 10 streets intersecting the main streets: Solna street (north of the Great Market Square) and Bernardo Morando street (south of the Great Market Square). In these streets, the other squares were placed: Salt Square (Rynek Solny) and Water Square (Rynek Wodny), functioning as the "internal organs" of the city whereas the bastions are the "hands and legs" for self-defense.

The most prominent building is the Town Hall, built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries in line with Bernardo Morando's design. In 1639–1651, Jan Jaroszewicz and Jan Wolff redesigned the structure. They enlarged the edifice and added three storeys with a high attic. The facades were built in accordance with the Mannerist proportions, regular divisions and excessive architectural décor. The 18th century witnessed the construction of a guardroom and a fan-shaped double stairway that were built in front of the building. In 1770 a slender dome with a lantern was added to the top of the Town Hall tower.

The Town Hall stands at the foot of the Great Market Square regarded as one of the most beautiful 16th century squares in Europe. The square is surrounded by a complex of arcaded houses that were built by the richest Zamość merchants. Its measure is exactly 100 meters in both width and length with the crossing two main axes of the old town. The 600-meter longitudinal axis goes from the east to the west: from Bastion No. 7 to the Zamoyski Palace. The 400-meter crosswise axis goes from the north to the south, linking the Great Market Square with the two smaller market squares: Solny and Wodny.

The red "Under the Angel" House at 26 Ormiańska street (Armenian street) was built in the early 1630s by a rich Armenian merchant, Garbriel Bartoszewicz. It is embelished with a carved figure of the founder's saint patron, the Archangel Gabriel holding a lily. The walls of the second floor are decorated with lions and a dragon, illustrating that the lions should protect the house against the evil embodied by the dragon. The house is the seat of the Zamość Museum.

The yellow "Under The Madonna" House at 22 Ormiańska street (Armenian street) features the Madonna with the baby Jesus; showing how the Madonna is beating down with her feet a dragon. Built by a Lwów merchant Sołtan Sachwelowicz in the 17th century, the house has been refurbished recently to expose its façade. A high attic has been reconstructed on the basis of old photographs. At present the house is the venue of the Bernardo Morando Fine Arts State Secondary School.

The "Under St. Casimir" House was erected in the 17th century and was owned alternately by Polish chemists and Armenian merchants. The façade of the house is embelished with a figure of St. Casimir, the saint patron of the new owner - Kazimierz Lubecki.

Built at the beginning of the 17th century, the green Wilczek House at 30 Ormiańska street (Armenian street) prides itself in a Baroque decor, including a relief featuring St. John the Baptist and St. Thomas the Apostle with three spears. The house was remodelled in 1665-1674 by Jan Wilczek, a town councillor.

Called also "Sapphire", the blue "Under The Married Couple" House at 24 Ormiańska street (Armenian street) was built in the second quarter of the 17th century by an Armenian merchant Torosz. The facade includes a geometrical and plant frieze whereas the attic is decorated with grotesque figures of a married couple.

The Link House at 5 Rynek Wielki street (Great Market street) was erected at the end of the 17th century with all the features of the Baroque style. A Polish architect Jan Michał Link decorated the façade of the house with fluted Ionic columns. The tops of the windows were embellished with the carved busts of two mythological warriors: Minerva wearing a basinet and Hercules dressed in lion skins. Under the windows there is a frieze featuring laurel and palm branches - symbols of glory and victory. The pilasters include wall-trophies - weapons and armours.

Called also the ‘Chemist's House', the Piechowicz House is a symbol of keeping a 350-year-old tradition. Namely the building, which was built by Szymon Piechowicz from Turobin, a chemist and a professor of medicine at the Zamość Academy, still houses a chemist's. The chemist's is furnished with a set of 19th century dark, oak cabinets.

Constructed by Bernardo Morando for an Italian merchant in the 1590s, also called the Telanowski house, the Zamoyski house belonged to Jan Zamoyski (1599–1657). The house has got four arcades, a frieze placed under the windows and an attic. It was supposed to be a model for other houses located on the square.

The construction of the Second Morando Tenement House started around 1590. It was designed by Bernardo Morando who placed Italian-style regular four-window façade with arcades. The windows are ornamented by a frieze with rosettes. Another frieze is situated on the side wall, showing a combination of rectangles and ovals.

The Abrek House was built for a professor of the Zamość Academy, Stanisław Rosiński. In 1636 the house was bought by another professor of the Zamość Academy, Andrzej Abrek who turned it into a splendid edifice with an arcaded portal, triangular top and three stone doors in the hallway.

Built at the end of the 16th century, the Szczebrzeszyn House belonged to the town of Szczebrzeszyn. Its function was to keep the town's treasures and assets in Zamość fortress that was regarded as a safe place. The house has four windows, arcades and a richly ornamented finial in the form of a cartouche in which Szczebrzeszyn coat of arms was allegedly placed.

Built in the 1600s in line with Bernardo Morando's design, the Turobin House was built for the town of Turobin which used to be part of Zamość Entail. It is embellished with many Renaissance decorations based on Italian models taken from Sebastian Serlia's books. Its façade has got a frieze featuring a system of geometrical figures.

The Cathedral (a former collegiate church until 1992) was founded by Jan Zamoyski and dedicated to Lord's Resurrection and St. Thomas the Apostle. It was built in 1587-1598 by an Italian architect Bernardo Morando. Being 45-meter long and 30-meter wide, the Cathedral constitutes one of the most impressive sacral buildings in Poland. Full of numerous side chapels, thin pillars and a fine vaulted presbytery, it prides itself in original interior decor and rich Renaissance decorations, an 18th century Rococo tabernacle and many paintings of Italian and Polish painters. In the vault of the church, there are crypts with the ashes of 16 Zamość entailers and those of their families.

Built in the Baroque style in the second half of the 18th century, the Cathedral Bell Tower is a prominent structure. It was erected according to Jerzy de Kawe's design. The passageway is decorated with plaques commemorating the martyrdom of the inhabitants of Zamość Region during World War II. In the bell tower there are three historic bells: "Jan" - the biggest and the oldest one, named after its benefactor Jan "Sobiepan" Zamoyski, "Tomasz" founded by Tomasz Józef Zamoyski in 1721 and "Wawrzyniec" founded by Wawrzyniec Sikorski in 1715.

The Redemptorists' Church of St. Nicholas is the former Orthodox church built in 1618–1631. The project was drafted by Jan Jaroszewicz whereas the decorations were designed by Jan Wolff. The domed temple had a defensive purpose. In the 1690s a 38-m tower with a Baroque dome was added. The building has got some features typical of Moldavian Orthodox churches and Latin architecture.

Built in the 1680s in the Baroque style in line with J. M. Link's design, St. Catherine's Church was first dedicated to St. Peter from Alkantara whereas in the 1920s the church became an academic church dedicated to St. Catherine. During World War II, "The Prussian Tribute", the famous Polish painting by Jan Matejko, was transferred secretly from Kraków and hidden in the vault of the church to protect it from the Nazis.

Tomasz Zamoyski, the second entailer, and his wife Katarzyna built The Franciscan Church Dedicated to The Annunciation in the Baroque style. The biggest temple in Zamość (56-meter long and 29-meter wide) was regarded as one of the most prominent 17th century churches in Poland. It was embelished with a very rich décor by Jan Michał Link. In 1784 the Austrians closed down the Franciscan Order and as a result the church lost its sacral function for many years, housing a cinema and secondary school. In 1993 the building was transformed into a church again.