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This is what Zamość is called and it does deserve the nickname. The town is surrounded by Renaissance fortifications with mighty bastions. The tenement houses in the Old Town were all built in the Renaissance style and the Cathedral (the former Collegiate Church) belongs to the greatest works of Renaissance architecture. Zamość is a crowning achievement of Renaissance urban planning and belongs to the most magnificent ensembles in the world. In a word – it is a pearl.
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Philosophers and urban designers had always dreamt about creating an ideal town. Italian architects also worked on the concept during the Renaissance but it was in Zamość that the idea was fully implemented. An ideal town was supposed to be functional, safe, resident-friendly and beautiful. This is precisely what Zamość was like with its clear urban layout, rationally designed public facilities, erected in a uniform style and guaranteeing safety to its residents thanks to fortifications. It was also beautiful; simply an ideal town.
In addition, the design of the town prepared by Bernardo Morando referred to the anthropomorphic concept (the so-called Vitruvian Man) and corresponded to a human silhouette, where the palace is the head, the main street which joins the residence to Bastion #7 is the spine and the Academy and the Cathedral are its lungs. The crosswise road with the three markets was its belly whereas the defensive bastions - its arms and legs.
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Zamość is a visitor-friendly town. The most interesting historical buildings are situated inside the town’s defensive walls, which makes them easily accessible to tourists. The town offers accommodation to all kinds of visitors. Apart from the Old Town buildings there are many other attractions in Zamość, such as an interesting zoological garden, a beautiful park, a modern cinema, the oldest symphonic orchestra in Poland, galleries, many restaurants and cafes in Old Town basements as well as pavement cafes in summer when the Rynek becomes a huge theatre and concert hall.
Zamość also constitutes an excellent base for those who want to explore the Roztocze district – a beautiful green area and it is only 130 km away from L’viv, a town which is so close to many Poles’ hearts.
UNESCO is an agency of the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture. Its major objective is to promote international collaboration through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law and the human rights. In 1972 UNESCO adopted a convention concerning World Cultural and Natural Heritage. As a result, a List of World Heritage was made; since 1977 the most precious objects and sites representing cultural diversity and treasures of nature of all regions of the world have been inscribed on the list. In August 2010 the list comprised 911 objects from 151 countries, 13 of which are located in Poland. Zamość was inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List during a session held in American Santa Fe on 14 December 1992.
The fact that a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List means that the country in which it is located has to protect it against destruction and preserve it, as much as possible, in an unchanged condition. As far as Zamość is concerned the Old Town was inscribed on the list but the conservation protection zone includes also the fortifications located around the Old Town and the borders of the zone are defined by Peowiaków and Sadowa Streets in the north, the Łabuńka River and the area around the Rotunda in the west and south and Podwale, Okopowa and Peowiaków Streets in the east. The whole area is protected, not only the particular buildings. The buildings are protected by virtue of domestic provisions, which granted them a status of historical facilities. In the past Polish historical buildings and objects were divided into several categories and the “0” category comprised facilities of the highest, international rank. This group consisted of over 50 historical facilities, two of which were situated in Zamość: the first one was the urban layout inside the fortress and the second one was the Collegiate Church (now the Cathedral). At present historical buildings and objects are not evaluated. 120 facilities in Zamość Old Town are listed in the Register of Historical Facilities, including the Rotunda and Town Park with the caponier. The first position on the list is “The Old Town inside the fortifications, including all masonry and wooden buildings, ruins, trees as well as streets and public squares”. The said group of 120 historical facilities includes also major edifices of the Old Town, i.e. The Cathedral, the Town Hall, churches, the synagogue, the Central House and several dozen tenement houses.
