THE ACADEMY OF ZAMOSC

The Academy of Zamosc is the pride of this old town. Respect for the science, culture and art, acquired by Jan Zamoyski at the best academies (Paris, Strasburg, Padua) fruited with wise, humanistic patronage. Directed by the maxim ‘The republics will be like their citizens behaviours and education’, he decided to found a school for noble youths, the third higher education institution,  beside Cracow and Vilnius. Szymon Szymonowic was one of the academy's co-founders, who brought the first professors from Cracow. In 1594 the statement of Academy was confirmed by the Pope Clemens VIII with the apropriate bulla.

Akademicka Street - The Academy and The Cathedral 

At first, the students were being educated at the schools of law, philosophy, medicine, and later also theology. The academy's high level of education continued for a dozen of years or so, and it boasted outstanding staff, including a renowned philosopher, Adam Burski, the lawyer Tomasz Drezner and doctor Ursinus – Jan Niedzwiedzki.

THE ACADEMY

 Jan Zamoyski's inheritors were not so keen on caring for the Academy. After some time its ceased to educate. Low remuneration made the Academy more and more dependent on the Church authorities, because the majority of professors occupied the positions of college canons. Though some reforms had been carried out, they could not improve the bad atmosphere in the Academy. After 190 years of its educative activities the Academy was closed in 1784 by the Austrians. Today in the rooms of Academy there is a secondary school named after Jan Zamoyski.

 The Academy had a printing house attached to it, which printed nearly 1,500 works, many of which were of high scientific and literary significance. This was the first house to print Szymonowic's ‘Sielanki’, as Szymonowic was one of the founders of that institution. For over a century it also issued calendars, which were famous all over Poland. The first printer was typographer Marcin Lecki academic. The first printed text, which appeared in Zamosc was ‘Appeal to Poles’ prepared for the inauguration of the Academy. Jan Zamoyski in his will left the printing house to the Academy, but in 1812 it was cancelled.