Museum in Zamość
Zamość Rotunda (Museum of Martyrdom of the Zamość Region)
A 19th-century circular fort that the Gestapo turned into a place of execution during WWII, now a museum of martyrdom for the Zamość region.
Reviewed and updated July 2026
What the Zamość Rotunda commemorates
The Rotunda is a ring-shaped brick fort of 1825-31, originally built as part of the Zamość Fortress. During the German occupation it became a Gestapo site where thousands of prisoners from the region were held and shot. Today its cells house a museum of martyrdom, with a cemetery around the walls.
A sombre WWII memorial near the Old Town
The site records the wartime persecution of the Zamość region, including deportations and executions carried out here. Individual cells are dedicated to different groups of victims. It is a place for quiet remembrance rather than a conventional sightseeing stop.
Planning a visit to the Rotunda in Zamość
The Rotunda lies just outside the historic centre and can be reached on foot from the Old Town. Opening hours vary by season and it may close in winter, so check current times before going.
Frequently asked questions
More museums in Zamość
Zamość Synagogue (Synagogue Centre)
A rare surviving Renaissance synagogue of about 1618, restored by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage and reopened in 2011 as a cultural centre with a multimedia exhibition on the town’s Jewish heritage.
Muzeum Zamojskie (Museum of Zamość, Armenian Houses)
The town museum set inside the ornately decorated 17th-century Armenian houses on the Great Market Square.
More to explore in Zamość
Attraction
Great Market Square, Zamosc
A near-perfect Renaissance square of arcaded, pastel burgher houses, the centrepiece of a sixteenth-century ideal city.
Attraction
Zamość Cathedral (Cathedral of the Resurrection and St Thomas the Apostle)
One of Poland's finest Renaissance churches, designed by Bernardo Morando and paid for by Jan Zamoyski, raised to cathedral rank in 1992.
Attraction
Bastion VII Underground Tourist Route (Nadszaniec)
A half-kilometre walk through the casemates and galleries of Bastion No 7, the biggest bastion of a fortress that was never taken by an enemy.
Attraction
Zamość Zoo (Stefan Miler Zoological Garden)
One of Poland's oldest zoos, started in 1918 as a school project by teacher Stefan Miler and now spread over about 13 hectares.
Attraction
Zamoyski Academy
The Zamoyski Academy was Poland's first private university, founded in 1594 by Crown Chancellor Jan Zamoyski. Its restored late-Baroque building stands in Zamość Old Town and now houses a high school.
Attraction
Salt Market (Rynek Solny)
Rynek Solny is one of Zamość's two smaller market squares, named for the salt trade that once passed through it and marked today by a large ship's anchor.