The Zamoyski Academy (; ) 1594–1784) was an academy founded in 1594 by Polish Crown Chancellor Jan Zamoyski. It was the third institution of higher education to be founded in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. After his death it slowly lost its importance, and in 1784 it was downgraded to a lyceum. The present-day I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Hetmana Jana Zamoyskiego w Zamościu is one of several secondary schools in Zamość. History The Zamoyski Academy was designed to educate szlachta (noble) youth in Humanist culture and prepare them for work in the public interest—though, from its early years, most of the students were burghers, not nobles. It was founded in 1594 by Crown Chancellor Jan Zamoyski in Zamość (a city, also founded by Zamoyski) with the assistance of poet Szymon Szymonowic, aka Simon Simonides (who would be one of the Academy's lecturers). Its founding was approved in Rome by Pope Clement VIII (bull of October 29, 1594), and in Poland by the Bishop of Chełm, Stanisław Gomoliński. The official opening ceremony took place on 15 March 1595. On July 5, 1600, Zamoyski would write, in the Academy's foundation act: "such are countries, as is the education of their youth" ("takie są rzeczypospolite, jakie ich młodzieży chowanie"). In 1601 the King of Poland, Sigismund III Vasa, confirmed the act. The Academy was modeled on the Academy of Strassburg. Initially the Academy comprised three departments: liberal arts, law, and medicine, and had seven faculty positions for professors. From 1637 the school had the power to award doctor of philosophy diplomas. In 1648, a department of theology was added. The Academy was the third institution of higher education to be founded in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (and the first private one), after the Kraków Academy (1364) and Vilnius University (1578) Zamoyski's immense wealth allowed him to be the first magnate in the Commonwealth to personally sponsor such an institution (Poznań's Lubrański Academy (1519) was a high school with a high level of education, hence it was called customary "academy"). The Academy was an institution midway between a secondary school and an institution of higher learning. It bestowed doctorates of philosophy and law. It was known for the high quality of education that it provided, which however did not extend beyond the ideals of "nobles' liberty." The faculty included a number of outstanding Poles such as Szymon Szymonowic, Adam Burski (Bursius), Tomasz Drezner, Jan Niedźwiecki-Ursinus, Szymon (Simon)