Rotunda & Martyrdom Museum

Małopolska


About 500m southwest of the Old Town is the Rotunda – a ring-shaped fort 54m in diameter surrounding a circular yard. The rotunda was built in the 1820s as part of the defensive infrastructure of the town, but during WWII the German SS converted it into an interrogation centre. Some 8000 people from the Zamość area are believed to have been murdered here and their bodies burnt in the courtyard. The atmosphere is desolate.

The graveyard surrounding the rotunda is the resting place of many who were killed here, including Polish soldiers and members of the Polish underground. One of those killed was 16-year-old Grażyna Kierszniewska. Her father was in the underground and the Nazis captured her and held her hostage in order to capture her father. She was tortured and then shot but never revealed the location of her father.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Małopolska attractions

1. Religious Art Museum

0.4 MILES

Behind the church is the former vicarage from the 1610s with its splendid ornate doorway. The Religious Art Museum features a collection of sacred art…

2. Arsenal Museum

0.41 MILES

This museum of military hardware and the city's fortifications is housed in three separate areas along the city's western bastions. Start at the facility…

3. Cathedral

0.42 MILES

The cathedral was built by Morando between 1587 and 1598 as a votive offering and mausoleum for the Zamoyskis. The exterior changed dramatically in the…

4. Bell Tower

0.45 MILES

You can climb this free-standing bell tower by the cathedral, though the terrace is not high enough to offer a bird’s-eye view of the Old Town. The…

5. Zamoyski Palace

0.48 MILES

This former palace (closed to the public) was the main residence of Jan Zamoyski, and dates from 1586. It was built in accordance with Bernardo Morando’s…

6. Rynek Wielki

0.5 MILES

The Great Market Sq is the heart of Zamość's attractive Old Town. This impressive Italianate Renaissance square (exactly 100m by 100m) is dominated by the…

7. Franciscan Church

0.5 MILES

Built between 1637 and 1655, this church was reputedly one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Poland. In 1784, the Austrian Empire abolished the…

8. Town Hall

0.52 MILES

The town hall was built between 1639 and 1651, and features were added and extended over the years: its curving stairway came in 1768. Zamoyski didn’t…