THE GREAT MARKET SQUARE

The Great Market Square is one of the most magnificent squares in Polish but also European architecture. Preserving, despite the passage of centuries, compositional and aesthetic values, emphasises the exceptionality of the place. An ideal square of 100 x 100m is encircled by shadowy arcades. Already in the contract with Bernardo Morando an Italian architect, Jan Zamoyski – the founder of the town reserved for himself that the town was to be built according to ‘the Italian Pattern’. The typical feature of each Italian ‘piazza’ were arcades moving the passers-by tired by the heat, from the heated square into the cool and shadowy interiors, and further on into the merchant counters and wine-vaults in the cellars.

The market was supposed to be the place of important public events and to present Zamosc as the ‘ideal city’. The market flourished in the 17^th century, when it was surrounded by two rows of late renaissance and neo-classicist houses. In spite of its name, the Market however used to play a representative role, rather that commercial one. The arcades during the day contrast their semidarkness with cream-coloured pillars, and, when illuminated at night, they grant the Market some extra charm.

 In addition to the arcades, particular groups of the houses were connected by the wide belts of decorative friezes. In the past the structures were also complemented by high, comb-shaped attics, covering the roofs. Empty building lots were unattended for the longest time in the southern part, and when after sometime, people started erecting solid, brick houses, the first ones were located on those lots. The houses built by Bernardo Morando were supposed to be the pattern for others. In the southern frontage of the Market, despite numerous changes, the Morando houses have retained many original renaissance features. Those houses, with wide, one-storey facades, rest on four arcades with the same number of windows above the frieze. It was due to the Zamosc influence that this type of a short, slightly squat house has spread in the south of Poland.

Other houses had additional storeys added up or were erected from scratch. They were gradually diverting from the established Morando style, especially the Armenian houses. In the middle of the 17^th century, in place of the subtle Italian motives, came oriental decorations full of splendour and fancy – the trace after Armenian owner of the houses. In the arcades, apart from the renaissance portals, much richer baroque portals were created. The Market has survived in such of shape for almost two centuries.

THE TOWN HALL

The Great Market Square is dominated by the magnificent Town Hall Tower. Contrary to the contemporary customs the Town Hall was erected not in very centre of the Market Square but within one row with the tenement-houses. This was not only because of the compositional or aesthetic reasons but also due to the founder’s will. Zamoyski did not want the Town Hall to dominate the nearby palace.

The ‘first’ Town Hall had, as the as the contemporary tenement-houses, only one storey and by the same token – the arcades. It only differed because of the tower and the fact it occupied two buildings lots. In the middle of the 17^th century the Town Hall was reconstructed. Much larger this time, it received attractive decorations with very slender mannerist proportions. The regular elevations were decorated with pilasters, shell-like niches and rich window frames. The top was crowned with attics. It was already one of the most beautiful and known Polish Town Halls. It differed from the present one only with the monumental stairs added up a century later.

The Town Hall is also the identity of Zamosc history. Over the middle arcade there is a sculpture of the founder’s son, second heir of tail Tomasz Zamoyski, from 1620. Over the stairs there is the town’s coat of arms – St. Thomas Apostle hands a shield with three spears - the Zamoyski family coat of arms ‘Jelita’. On the right buttress of the tower, by the entrance to the first floor there is the Grunwald Cross awarded to the town to commemorate the bravery of its residents in their fight against Nazi occupants. On the left buttress there are two plates two great events – the inscription of Zamosc on the UNESCO World Heritage List (1992) and the Pope John Paul II visit (1999).

The Armenians

The most beautiful and the most richly ornamented houses in the Great Market are called the Armenian houses. Armenians were invited to Zamosc by Jan Zamoyski in order to give more dynamism to the development of the town.

They came from Armenia, Turkey and from Persia but also from Lvov, Kamieniec Podolski and Jazlowiec - in that time towns in Poland but now in Ukraine. Armenians received the same rights as other residents, i.e. freedom of religion, a lot to build a temple and their own houses. Local people welcomed them warmly. Multinational Republic of Poland was famous for its tolerance. The Armenians were mainly engaged in trade and craft. They imported arms, textiles, gold jewellery and ornaments, the leather goods from Turkey and Persia. The tragedy of Armenians is related to the downfall of the town in the late 17^th century. Armenians started to emigrate, their community was dissolved. After the partitions of Poland by foreign countries Zamosc fell to Austria. In 1802 Austrian authorities ordered the Armenian temple to be dissolved and in 1826 – 1827 the Armenian temple was pulled down.

THE NOTHERN FRONTAGE – The Armenian houses

Starting our walk from the northern frontage we can have a look at the most beautiful tenement-houses, mostly of Zamosc Armenians. There is a green Wilczkowska House neighbouring the Town Hall from the east. 

Its first owner was Adam Burski, the most prominent scholar of Zamosc Academy, professor of philosophy and author of valuable dissertations. A modest, one-storey house was later expanded by his successors.The fragments of contemporarily reconstructed attic come from that time. It received its present elevations in the second half of the 17^th century, when its owner was Jan Wilczek, a councillor of Zamosc. It is the corner that determines its values, richly decorated with religious motives and figures of the saints (The Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Saint John the Baptist in the seer of Christ baptizing, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Thomas with the Zamoyskis’ spears).

The neighbouring tenement-hose is called Rudomiczowska House and it owes its name to Bazyli Rudomicz – a professor of Zamosc Academy and a medic who became famous as the 17^th century Zamosc chronicler. The next, third house – is the best preserved tenement-house called Bartoszewiczowska after its founder also known as ‘Under Angel’ or ‘Under Lions’ (due to the sculpture on the elevation). Initially it had only one storey above which two lions were embracing a high attic. There are also superb plant ornaments and fantastic dragon preserved that used to decorate the attic wall and now they are the filling in the space between the second floor windows.

 The window frames and the frieze over arcades are maintained in the oriental manner. Today the interiors are also the proof of the wealth of the owner, the merchant and the Armenian community chief, comparable with the magnificence of the 17^th century Lvov houses.

On the ground floor and the on the second floor there are twin large windows preserved, with beautifully decorated columns, colourful polychromes, old wooden ceilings and unique ‘black’ kitchen. There is the date of erection carved on one of the ceilings beams – 1634. The Zamosc Museum has been housed in here for several tens of years.

 The next two houses - were also built by the Armenians. In the same way as the previous ones, they were one-storey high and had attics that about one hundred years ago were utilised for the expansion. According to the spirit of the epoch and the exotic owners’ taste, they received richly decorated baroque facades with arabesque plant runners, with fantastic shapes and winged dragons, bunches of fruit and flowers, shells, etc. The first one – the House under a Married Couple – with an additional wide frieze over first floor windows,  is regarded as the most typical for the local Armenian architecture. The second one – named after a large early baroque bas-relief – the House under Madonna, has shields with the founder’s initials over its windows. After having had its former proportion restored, it is one of the most beautiful tenement-houses in the Great Market Square. 

The next Armenian houses were located outside of the Great Market Square along Ormianska (Armenian) Street and they also had attics once. At present they are just modest houses with arcades.

‘TOWARDS THE EAST’

The two close blocks of four houses each in the eastern frontage initially belonged to the Armenians and a wealthy Gdansk merchant – Barthl. With the beginning of the 17^th century the Academy professors gradually began taking them over. In the 19^th century all the houses had some storeys added up and now they have no impressive facades any more. They are decorated with rich portals, stucco works on the ceilings of the arcades, in some vestibules and the ground floor chambers, and old wooden ceilings on the higher floors. There is Saint Casimir showed on one of them.