Szczebrzeszyn (; ; ) is a city in southeastern Poland in Lublin Voivodeship, in Zamość County, about 20km west of Zamość. From 1975–1999, it was part of the Zamość Voivodeship administrative district. The town serves as the seat to the Gmina Szczebrzeszyn district. A 2004 census counted 5,357 inhabitants. It lends its name to the Szczebrzeszyn Landscape Park. Szczebrzeszyn is often called the "Capital City of Polish Language". History Early history Szczebrzeszyn's history can be traced back to 1352, during the reign of Casimir III, although archaeological evidence suggests the area had been settled for several centuries prior to this. Neighboring villages named in Nestor's 11th century chronicle of Rus further support that Szczebrzeszyn is much older, once lying beside a major commercial route running from south to north. By 1492, trade had developed enough to warrant a special act imposed by Jan Olbracht. The Act specified which roads Szczebrzeszyn merchants could use when traveling through Lesser Poland with their wares. As merchants traveled through Szczebrzeszyn, they paid set taxes which proved to be an excellent source of revenue. For example, the tax on a wagon with merchandise was 2 groschen, on an ox: 1 groschen, and on a wagon with salt from Drohobycz: a measure of salt. After Jan Amor Tarnowski of Tarnów's death in 1500, Szczebrzeszyn stayed in the hands of the Tarnowski family for the next 20 years. Later it was included in a dowry to the Kmita family. At that time, long-running feuds among family members re-ignited over the Szczebrzeszyn inheritance, while other magnates laid claims at this time. King Zygmunt August issued a binding decree to end this dispute in 1555, which allocated rights over the city to the Gorka family of Greater Poland. The Gorkas took a strong interest in religious matters, and granted freedom to all religious groups. They built a Greek Orthodox church, transformed the Roman Catholic parish church into a Calvinist one, and opened a synagogue nearby. Well-known supporters of the Reformation from Szczebrzeszyn, Stankar and Felix Kreutziger, sought the protection of these feudal lords. During this time, Szczebrzeszyn reached the highest levels of development. Rise and fall A variety of reasons led to the halting of development and, later, a steep decline. In early September, 1583, a fire swept through the castle keep, which destroyed all of the documents relating to privileges granted by Andrzej Gorka. These privileges were quickly