Zwierzyniec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zwierzyniec is a town on the Wieprz river in the Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. It has 3,324 inhabitants (2004).
Zwierzyniec is the northernmost town of the Roztocze National Park. The park comprises some of the last remaining sections of the primordial forest of Central Europe, especially spectacular stand of ancient beech trees (Bukowa Gora).
[edit] History
The Zwierzyniec settlement was established in the 16th century by the Zamoyski family. One of the features here is an artificial lake with a number of small islands - one of them contains monuments of the hounds belonging to the Polish Queen Marysieńka Sobieska (primo voto Zamoyska).
On another island the Zamoyskis built a baroque chapel, which became later the main church of the local Catholic parish. It is now known as the St John Nepomucene's parish church - renovated and expanded in early 1960s by father Dutkowski. The access to the chapel island is now via a bridge.
During the Second World War the Germans set up here a transit camp for the detention and further processing of folks that came to their attention (mostly sent to the death camps).
