Gates in Zamosc

In Zamosc, there are a lot of Gates. The Szczebrzeszyn Gate is one of the three town gates built according to Bernardo Morando’s design in the early 1600s. It was rebuilt in the 1770s and was also named the „Florian Gate” after the figure of St. Florian situated in the attic. The present architectural form of the building dates back to the classicist reconstruction carried out in the 1820s. The eastern side of the gate is joined to a well-preserved curtain wall leading to Bastion No. 2. 

Second Gate – The Old Lublin Gate was erected at the first stage of the construction of the town. In February 1588 Archduke Maximilian Habsburg, taken captive by Jan Zamoyski at the victorious battle of Byczyna, was led through the gate. The frontage of the gate features an allegorical low-relief of Poland. It used to be a kind of a triumphal arch. In 1604 the gate was walled in. There is an inscription in Latin, which reads: ” Welcome, Life-Giving Mother Poland! We should defend you not only with our walls but we should also be ready to give you our blood and lives. Welcome, Mother Poland, Star of Nobleness and Freedom. The gate was founded by Jan from Zamosc”. Another Gate is The New Lublin Gate, which was built in the Classicist style in the early 1820s. The higher part of the complex with a monumental brick and stone facade constitutes the gate proper. Minor entrances leading to rooms next to the gate are located in the lower parts of the building. The adjacent curtain-walls have been restored and the remains of a brick military structure in the moat uncovered and reconstructed. In 1982 a wooden bridge over the moat was reconstructed as well. The bridge connects the open gate with the earth embankment that used to defend access to the gate. The Old Lvov Gate was built according to Bernardo Morando’s design at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. At the top there is a bas-relief featuring St. Thomas the Apostle (the town’s saint patron), kneeling in front of Christ. On both sides of the building there are car touches with the Zamoyski family coat of arms. Below there is an inscription in Latin that reads: „Vanquisher of sin, hell and death repulse the fierce attacks of all our enemies”. In the side walls there are slanting embrasures for shooting or keeping a watch. The last Gate is The New Lvov Gate. This Gate was built in the early 1820s according to a design of a military engineer Jan Pawel Lelewel and given a monumental Classicist facade. After the adjacent earth embankments were destroyed, it became a detached building. The opening of the gate with its semicircular tympan bears strong resemblance to the Triumphal Arch in Saint Denis in Paris. The initials of Alexander I, the tsar of Russia and the king of Poland are still visible on the tympan. Since 1980 the building has housed The Karol Namyslowski Polish Peasant Orchestra.