Zamość Fortress
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Zamość Fortress (
It was taken down in 1866, although fragments survive.Altogether, the fortress went through six sieges, with the first one taking place in 1648, during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Eight years later it was surrounded by the Swedes, who came there again in 1703, then, in 1809, by the army of the Duchy of Warsaw, which captured it from the Austrians. The longest one was the siege of Zamość of 1813, when the Polish garrison for 8 months defended the fortress from the Russians. The last siege took place during the November Uprising, when Zamość was the last point of Polish defence which fell to the Russians. The fortress, which had in the meantime become obsolete, was closed down in 1866.
Construction and later changes
Zamość fortress, as well as the town of Zamość, are the brainchild of Chancellor Jan Zamoyski, who in the second half of the 16th century decided to found a new, private city in the middle of nowhere, named after himself.[3] The foundation charter was issued on April 3, 1580, and the first name of the town was Zamośćie by the Wieprzec river.
Both fortifications and the city were planned by Italian architect from Padua, Bernardo Morando.[4] He decided to take advantage of the two local rivers — Topornica and Labunka, whose waters were used to fill the moat.
The first castle was built in 1579, and in the following years additional buildings were added — the
In 1683, architect Jan Michal Link began modernization of the fortress, which lasted until 1694. Walls were strengthened, and two smaller bastions were replaced by a large one. After these works, the fortress was not repaired until 1809, when government of the Duchy of Warsaw invested heavily into several changes. New gates were placed, two older gates were bricked up, bastions were enlarged. However, the works were not completed because of the French invasion of Russia.
Further improvements were continued by the government of the
First siege
In November 1648, during the
On November 5, the enemy burned nearby villages, but the fortress itself was untouched. Soon afterwards, Cossack engineers managed to remove water from southern mound, exposing the wall in that area. However, Khmelnytski's forces were inadequate, and winter was approaching. Since the defenders were also aware of their difficult situation, both sides signed a truce. For the price of 20 000 talars, the Cossack-Tatar forces decided to end the siege and returned home for the winter.[7]
Second siege
In the summer of 1655, the joint Russo-Cossack forces approached near the fortress, but they did not try to capture it. Instead, when late that year
The Swedes began with artillery barrage, but due to lack of heavy guns, it was not successful. Within a few days, Charles X Gustav realized that capturing Zamość, whose fortifications had been strengthened since 1648, was impossible, and on March 1, the invaders withdrew. Swedish siege of Zamość was later described by
In the last stage of the war, Zamość was a prison for high-ranking officers of the
Third siege
Late 17th century marked the decline of the Commonwealth, a decline reflected in the general state of repair of the fortress. The
Fourth siege
After the
Fifth siege
After Napoleon's failed invasion on Russia (1812), the fortress was besieged by the Russian forces, which approached Zamość in February 1813. Polish defenders, under General
Sixth siege
During the November Uprising, the fortress was one of main centers of Polish resistance. Commanded by Julian Sierawski and later Jan Krysinski, its garrison consisted of 3800 soldiers. Zamość was a base of Polish units operating in the area of Lublin, however, after Polish defeat in the Battle of Ostrołęka, the Russians took the initiative. The blockade of Zamość began in July 1831, and the fortress itself capitulated on November 21, as the last resistance point of the country.[11]
Liquidation of the fortress and modern times
After the November Uprising, the fortress declined. Technological advance in warfare was decisive and finally, tsar Alexander II of Russia officially closed the stronghold in 1866.[12] In the following years, large parts of fortifications were demolished.
In 1992, Zamość, which is one of the classical monuments of Renaissance urban layout in Europe, was included on the list of the World's Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.[13]
Notes
- ^ "Zamosc, a photo from Lubelskie, East". TrekEarth. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
- ^ Old City of Zamosc Archived September 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Wonders of Zamosc Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Jewish Community of Zamosc | The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot
- ^ History of Zamosc in Polish
- ^ "Zamosc - History". Cf2004.zamosc.pl. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
- ^ "Polish Renaissance Warfare - Summary of Conflicts - Part Five". Jasinski.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
- ^ a b c Zamosc — History
- ^ [1] Archived September 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Jewish Community of Zamosc | The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot
- ^ Zamosc — History
- ^ History of Zamosc
- ^ Zamosc — The Pearl of Renaissance
Further reading
- Zamość. Z przeszlosi twierdzy i miasta, red. A. Koprukowniak i A. Witusik, Lublin 1980, ISBN 83-222-0046-3
- J. Nadzieja, Zamość 1813, Warszawa 1994, ISBN 83-11-08203-0
- W. Sladkowski, Zamość pod znakiem Marsa [w:] Czterysta lat Zamośćia, red. J. Kowalczyk, Ossolineum 1983, ISBN 83-04-01284-7
- Stanislaw Lagowski: Szlakiem twierdz i ufortyfikowanych przedmosci. Pruszków: Oficyna Wydawnicza Ajaks, 2005, ss. 15–31. ISBN 83-88773-96-8.
- Stanisław Herbst, Zachwatowicz Jan: Twierdza Zamość. Warszawa: 1936.
- St. Herbst, Zamość, Warszawa 1954
- Hemmann, Thomas: Die Blockade von Zamosc, in: Hemmann, Thomas; Klöffler, Martin: Der vergessene Befreiungskrieg - Belagerte Festungen zwischen Memel und Rhein in den Jahren 1813-1814; Norderstedt, BOD (Books on Demand GmbH) (2018) 632 Seiten, ISBN 978-3-7448-6682-8[Fifth siege]