HISTORY

First traces of human beings in the area of the present the County of Zamość date back to the Stone Age. 5000 years ago people farming the land, raising animals and making tools came to settle in the picturesque valleys of the Wieprz and Bug rivers, on the fertile loess soils.

In Guciów on Wieprz River a burial ground with crematory graves from about 2000 years BC has been discovered.

In the early Middle Ages the grounds of the county formed part of region called Grody Czerwieńskie. The land was located on the international trade route running from east to west and, in the 10^th - 11^th c., was a frequent cause of Polish-Russian wars. Finally, the region was included for good within the borders of the Polish state under the rule of king Kazimierz Wielki; towards the end of the 16^th c. the Zamoyski family started their rule over the land. In 1580 Jan Zamoyski founded Zamość city that has ever since been an important administrative, cultural and commercial centre.

Following the 1^st partition of Poland the Zamość Land was included into the Austrian state, later, into Russia. The years of World War One were tragic time. The majority of cities and villages were distroyed; the war took also a heavy toll of lives. After the war, in 1975, the zamojskie province was established as a result of a new administrative division abolishing counties. Only another reform, implemented on 1 January 1999, restored to Zamość its status of a county.