Zamosc

Study in Wroclaw

Zamosc has a population of 70,000 and is situated in the south-western part of Lublin voivodship, about 88 km from Lublin, 240 km from Warsaw and 60 km from the border with Ukraine.

The city is located at an altitude of 210 m, while the rivers Labunka and Topornica flow through it in a wide, marshy river valley surrounded by the gentle hills of the mites. The Roztoczanski National Park is situated very close to Zamosc.

The town’s history dates back to the granting of the location privilege in 15th Century. Chancellor and Hetman Jan Zamoyski, a quintessential Renaissance man, appointed an Italian architect called Bernardo Morando to design and build a town for him. It was originally called New Zamosc and comes from the family name of Zamoyski. 

Occupying a position on the trading routes leading to Lviv and Kiev, Zamosc rapidly gained a population of Jewish, Italian, Armenian, Hungarian, German, Greek, Spanish, English, Turkish, Persian, Dutch and Scottish merchants, turning it into a multi-cultural and multi-religious town. Its inhabitants created a colourful society that consisted of as many as twelve nationalities. A number of people living in Zamosc were given significant privileges and benefits by Zamoyski. This diversity and the Renaissance architecture helped shape the unique character of Zamosc. 

International fairs held in Zamosc were modelled on exotic eastern bazaars. Armenians maintained trade contacts with their fellow-countrymen from the Crimea, Turkey, Persia, Moldavia as well as south-eastern Poland. They brought all kinds of merchandise to Zamosc, including weapons, furs, jewels, saddles, wines, carpets, rugs, eastern fabrics, gold and leather goods, spices, pigments, nitrates and silk belts from Persia, Turkey and China. On this basis, the town quickly turned into a major trade centre. 

The memory of the unique personality that was Jan Zamoyski, combined with the traditions of cultural and educational achievement were the important factors that influenced Zamosc’s development. 

A crucial battle of the Polish-Russian war of 1919-1920 took place close to Zamosc, which ended with the total defeat of the Red Army. During the Second World War the town sustained no serious damage, but the Nazis inflicted great suffering on its people: they put to death more than eight thousand inhabitants in the Old Town’s Rotunda. Upwards of 300 villages in the vicinity of Zamosc were cleared and burned down. 

UNESCO listed the city as a World Heritage Site in 1992.

Climate 

The climate here has a continental character, Zamosc experiences dry and hot summers and generally frosty winters

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