Bastion III
This is the south western Bastion - or bastion no. 1 based on the numbering from before 1809). This was the only one of the Zamość bastions that originally had an irregular form closely following the shape of the terrain.

According to S. Herbst and J. Zachwatowicz: “The flood meadows’ weak ground prevented the building of a bastion with a full form. This task was completed at the end of the 17th century and entailed major piling works.
When designing the bastion on this side, Bernardo Morando decided to divide it into two smaller bastions only slightly protruding in front of the line of the defensive curtain walls. We can see a similar approach was adopted in 1560 in bastions by the “Red Gate” in Antwerp’s fortifications, which was built by Francisco Marchi. In Zamość bastion 3 was finally finished in 1605, together with bastions 2 and 4 and the Szczebrzeska Gate. The bastion only underwent the first stage of major rebuilding in the second half of the 17th century. 1680 was Zamość’s 100th anniversary and on this occasion everyone could see that the fortress was in need of considerable conservation and building work. These works led by Jan Michał Link began in around 1685. The major rebuilding of the two small south western bastions was completed in 1694. The bottom of the pond or “Great Lake” on the fortress approach from the south west side was piled. This now made it possible to design a regular bastion with the shape characteristic of the New Dutch bastion fortification school.
A characteristic element of this school was the inclination of the bastion flanks (the sides of the fortification) at an obtuse angle to the right and left bastion curtain wall. The new bastion designed by Jan Michał Link (a military man, engineer and architect for the IV entailer Marcin Zamoyski) had a cavalier (a defensive position located at the highest point), with the middle part of the bastion being raised slightly above terrace level and making it possible to direct artillery fire at the bastion approach. This system was an innovative approach for the end of the 17th century. Similar approaches to building bastions only started to be seen in western Europe at the beginning of the 18th century.
Bastion 3, designed by J. M. Link, had storeyed bastion flanks recessed over their width with no orillon (extension of the bastion face). The higher, recessed flanks plus part of the bastion faces comprised the cavalier described above, extending in the bastion angle (the angle between sections of the bastion face). In Poland this approach was adopted somewhat later by Jan de Witte.
In bastion 3 J. M. Link situated watch towers in the lower corners of the flanks. We can see a view of one of them on a drawing by the architect, Jan Ittar from 1805. They’re also recalled in a description from 1809: “In some places towers overlooked the ramparts - with tops decorated with the Zamoyski coat of arms”. The modern bastion that was created with two-storey flanks had as many as twenty embrasures for the artillery. In the mid-18th century a flower garden was set up on the bastion plateau.
As part of modernisation works in the 1820s led by gen. Jan Mallet-Malletski, the bastion underwent yet another transformation. It was widened considerably, whilst the bastion flanks were lowered and the scarps were raised to the height of bastion’s curtain walls. Casemates (vaulted rooms in fortifications used in combat situations) replaced the open bastion flanks which had been lowered.

Contributed by
Dr. Jacek Feduszka
Zamość Museum