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Zamosc: its old town has the title of one of the 7 wonders of Poland and is also inscribed on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List.
It is a unique place, due to its legend of the «ideal city». U.S we visited it after spending a day in the Roztocze National Park, very close to Zamosc and also worth a visit without a doubt.
Your visit is essential!
Zamosc on our route through Poland
What to consider before visiting it?
On your trip to Poland you should visit Zamosc, known as the «Padua of the North». It is the ideal Renaissance city, made to be perfect and to be the seat of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy of Poland. A UNESCO World Heritage city that deserves to be a stop on your route through Poland by motorhome, camper or car.
The peculiar history of Zamosc
This magnificent city, uniformly renaissance, was created thanks to the meeting of two exceptional personalities: a wealthy tycoon (Jan Zamoyski) and a genius architect (Bernardo Morando). People who invented and created a city full of amazing monuments, including the unique cathedral. Not surprisingly, Zamosc is now referred to as the "Padua of the North" and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Morando supervised the construction of the so-called "The ideal city". A city that was created from scratch and invented as a complete and closed unit fulfilling strictly defined tasks, whose urban concept was very popular in Europe at the time. To this day, only a few such cities have survived in the world, and one of them is in Poland.
The assumptions of the «ideal city»:
-It must be on a river to ensure the transport of goods and proper hygiene of people.
-It will be built on two independent levels: the lower level serves for all activities and the upper level serves the nobility and the bourgeoisie so that they can move around the city without obstacles.
-Below these levels there are navigable channels to facilitate communication and transportation.
-The width of the streets must be at least half the height of the adjacent tenement houses.
-It must be beautiful and functional at the same time.
And that's how it was done and it's Zamosc, what do you think?
Honestly, the city is very beautiful, but it is very small, which perhaps disappointed us a little. Of course, what surprised and fell in love with us were the parks and areas around outside the walled city, where there was even a beach on a lake.
10 things to see and do in Zamosc + some extras
1 The perfectly square market
If you visit the Great Market Square, you come across a space 100 x 100 meters, fitting perfectly into the concept of a Renaissance city. At first glance, it may seem huge; Please note that this is because there is no town hall in the center. When you look around, you will notice not only rows of tenement houses, but also restaurant terraces exposed in summer.
2 The "most beautiful" town hall in Poland
The town hall has wonderful fan-shaped stairs. Its location is surprising: it is located on the side of the market square, not in its center like the other town halls, thanks to which it does not disturb the central axis of the city. Thanks to this solution, the Zamosc market appears to be larger than it actually is and gives the impression of being the largest market in Poland.
3 Look for the Monument to Jan Zamoyski, the Zamoyski Palace and enter the Cathedral of the Resurrection of the Lord
The cathedral was the apple of Bernardo Morando's eye. He was very proud of her and pampered her in every detail. Thanks to the passion and commitment of the architect, a jewel was created. The cathedral is one of the greatest Polish architectural monuments. In front of it you will see the monument to Jan Zamoysky and his Palace.
4 Visit the exhibition of the Arsenal building and the old Powder House and shoot a cannon or a bow
You will learn about the history of the city's defenses at the Arsenal Fortifications and Weapons Museum. During the 3D multimedia projection, you can see all the wars and skirmishes that took place in Zamosc. Also in the backyard, the little ones can fire a cannon or shoot in an arc.
5 Find the bridges of lovers
The place where a small bridge over the train tracks south of the Market Square carries the first locks of the lovers supposedly called Małpi Gaj, but then further on you will find other beautiful bridges over the moats of the walls and with many locks of love as my children call them.
6 Go around Zamosc by walking through the moat and the city walls
Go around Zamosc on the outside of the walls, by the moat. A very pleasant and beautiful walk that will give you beautiful views over this city.
7 Stroll around, do not miss the park with the gondola and the rides with tricycles for the little ones
Next to the city walls you will find a large park, a green area full of peace and also of leisure. A very large park where you will find from gondolas to walk through the canals and lakes that the park has, tricycles that you rent to walk through the park, playgrounds and even a mini farm.
8 Bathe on the lake beach
On the side where the bridges of love are walking further to the outskirts you will find a beautiful lake, and there a beach to suffocate the heat in summer.
9 Listen to the trumpeter who plays from the Ayutamiento tower
Every day at noon you can hear a trumpeter play from the town hall tower. Play the same song in three directions, the fourth direction, Krakow direction does not. They say it is because of Zamosc's competition with Krakow for being the most beautiful city in Poland.
10 Play in the water fountain
In one of the squares behind the market square, we will find a place for meetings and concerts and attached to it a fountain for games on the ground. A place that in summer if you go with children will be a good stop for sure.
EXTRA: Enjoy a good regional meal on one of the terraces of the market square
As you already know, one of the greatest pleasures we enjoyed in Poland during our trip was Polish gastronomy. So it is not surprising that we want to recommend stopping and eating at one of the restaurants in Zamosc.
This time we loved eating regional dishes from one of the restaurants in the market square, a lovely place to eat. We ate at the restaurant called Bohema, which we liked because in its menu it had a special section of regional food, which was what we ordered. Good price and good food.
By the way, the most traditional dish in the region here is trout, we don't like it very much, but whoever likes it already knows 😛
Does this destination feel like ... yes?
Well, there are many more things to see in Zamosc such as its synagogue, other churches or its zoo, which despite the fact that we do not like to visit zoos and we omit it, the reality is that it exists and it is unfortunately with a lot of tourist influx.
Where to park and spend the night in Zamosc in a motorhome
Zamosc has several free car parks at the entrances to the city walls and gates. It is there that we park and spend the night without any problem.
Just one tip if you go to Zamosc by camper or motorhome, it is better to arrive early or late at night, otherwise the car parks fill up quickly.
There are no services for motorhomes in these car parks.
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