Jagiellonian University facts for kids

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Jagiellonian University

Uniwersytet Jagielloński
Latin: Universitas Iagellonica Cracoviensis
Former names	Studium Generale (1364–1397) Collegium Regium (1397–1400) Collegium Maius (1400–c. late 1500s) Kraków Academy (c. late 1500s–1777) Principal School of the Realm (1777–1795) Principal School of Kraków (1795–1817)
Motto	Plus ratio quam vis
Motto in English	Let reason prevail over force
Type	Public
Established	12 May 1364; 661 years ago (12 May 1364)
Founder	King Casimir III the Great
Rector	Piotr Jedynak
Academic staff	3,921 (2021)
Students	33,549 (12.2023)
Undergraduates	16,222 (2021)
Postgraduates	11,014 (2021)
Doctoral students	2,153 (2021)
Location	Kraków , Poland 50°3′42″N 19°56′2″E / 50.06167°N 19.93389°E / 50.06167; 19.93389
Campus	Urban
Colours	Blue and gold
Affiliations	Coimbra Group EAIE Europaeum EUA Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities IRUN Una Europa Utrecht Network
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name: Kraków Old Town and Jagiellonian University
Type:	Cultural
Criteria:	iv, vi
Designated:	1978 (2nd session)
Reference #:	29
Region:	Europe and North America

Jagiellonian University

Location in Poland

The Jagiellonian University (Polish: Uniwersytet Jagielloński, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. It was started in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great. This makes it the oldest university in Poland. It is also one of the oldest universities in the world that has been open continuously. The university is located in the Kraków Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Jagiellonian University has always been important for Polish culture. It has also helped a lot with new ideas and knowledge in Europe.

The main campus of the Jagiellonian University is in the center of Kraków. The university has thirteen main departments, plus three more that are part of the Collegium Medicum. About 4,000 teachers and researchers work there. More than 35,000 students study in 166 different subjects. Most classes are taught in Polish. However, about 30 degrees are offered in English, and some in German. The university library and the Collegium Novum building have many old art pieces and books. These include the famous book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium by Nicolaus Copernicus, who studied there.

Many famous people have studied at the Jagiellonian University. These include kings like King John III Sobieski and Pope John Paul II. Also, Polish presidents like Andrzej Duda and prime ministers like Beata Szydło. Famous writers and artists like Jan Kochanowski and Stanisław Lem also attended. Important thinkers and scientists like Carl Menger and Leo Sternbach were also students. Four Nobel laureates have been connected to the university. These are Ivo Andrić and Wisława Szymborska, who studied there. Also, Czesław Miłosz and Olga Tokarczuk, who taught there. Teachers and graduates from the university have joined many important groups, like the Royal Society.

History of the Jagiellonian University

How the University Started

The founding of the university in 1364, painted by Jan Matejko (1838–1893)

In the middle of the 1300s, King Casimir III the Great understood that Poland needed more educated people. He especially wanted lawyers who could help create better laws and manage the courts. He worked hard to start a place for higher learning in Poland. His efforts paid off when Pope Urban V gave him permission to open a university in Kraków. The official document to start the university was signed on May 12, 1364. At the same time, the city council also gave special rights to the new school, called Studium Generale.

After King Casimir III died, the university's growth slowed down. Classes were held in different places around the city. These included professors' homes, churches, and the cathedral school on Wawel Hill. It is thought that building a special home for the Studium Generale began in an area now called Kazimierz.

Later, in the 1390s, the university was brought back to life by Jadwiga, who was the Queen of Poland. Queen Jadwiga and her husband, Władysław II Jagiełło, decided it was better to buy an existing building. So, in 1399, they bought a building on Żydowska Street. Queen Jadwiga gave all her personal jewelry to the university. This money helped 203 students enroll.

After Queen Jadwiga passed away in 1399, her husband Władysław II Jagiełło became the only ruler. On July 26, 1400, he changed the university to be like the Sorbonne University in Paris. He also created a new department for theology. Around 1400, a special house for Lithuanian students was set up. In the 1400s and 1500s, over 300 Lithuanian students studied there. This included Abraomas Kulvietis, who helped create the Lithuanian language writing. In 1401, Jonas Vaidutis, a Lithuanian duke and relative of King Władysław II Jagiełło, became the university's second leader.

The departments of astronomy, law, and theology attracted many smart scholars. These included John Cantius and Nicolaus Copernicus' teacher, Albert Brudzewski. The university was the first in Europe to have separate departments for Mathematics and Astronomy. Because the university was growing so fast, it needed a bigger building. This led to the creation of the Collegium Maius in the early 1400s. This building, with its courtyard and beautiful arches, helped the university become famous in Central Europe.

The Golden Age of the Renaissance

The main assembly hall of the university's Collegium Maius

For many centuries, almost all of Poland's smartest people were educated at this university. They received special support from the kings. Most students were Polish, but over its long history, thousands of students from other countries also studied there. These included students from Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, and Spain. In the second half of the 1400s, more than 40 percent of students came from outside Poland.

The main baroque entrance to the university's Collegium Iuridicum

The first leader of the university was Piotr Wysz. The first professors came from Czech, German, and Polish backgrounds. Most of them had studied at the Charles University in Prague. By 1520, Greek language studies were added. Hebrew was also taught. At this time, the Collegium Maius had seven reading rooms. Six of these were named after famous ancient thinkers like Aristotle and Plato. During this time, the departments of Law, Medicine, Theology, and Philosophy also got their own buildings. Two of these, the Collegium Iuridicum and Collegium Minus, are still standing today.

The best time for the University of Kraków was during the Polish Renaissance, from 1500 to 1535. In the early 1500s, 3,215 students attended. During these years, the Jagiellonian Library was started. A library floor was added to the Collegium Maius. The original library rooms had books chained to their shelves to prevent theft. These rooms are not used for that purpose anymore, but they are sometimes opened for special talks.

As the university's popularity, and Kraków's importance, decreased in later centuries, the number of students also fell. The record for student numbers set in the early 1500s was not broken until the late 1700s. This happened as Poland faced economic and political problems. Many university buildings fell apart and were used for other things. For example, one record says a lecture hall could be rented out for a laundry. This was a very difficult time for the university, and it almost closed.

Challenges and New Beginnings

The Collegium Novum in the Old Town District

After Poland was divided by other countries in 1795, and after the Napoleonic Wars, Kraków became a free city. It was protected by the Austrian Empire. But this did not last long. In 1846, after the Kraków Uprising, the city and its university became part of the Austrian Empire. The Austrians were not always friendly to the university. They even removed furniture from the Collegium Maius' main hall to turn it into a place to store grain. However, Ferdinand I of Austria ordered that the university should stay open.

By the 1870s, the university was doing much better, and many scholars returned. In 1883, professors Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski successfully turned nitrogen and oxygen into liquids. After this, the Austrian authorities helped the university by giving money to build new buildings. One of these was the beautiful neo-gothic Collegium Novum, which opened in 1887. Interestingly, in 1918, Polish students who wanted an independent Poland removed and destroyed a large painting of Emperor Franz Joseph from this building.

Count Stanisław Tarnowski was the university's leader twice between 1871 and 1909.

The university around 1900

For the university's 500th birthday, a statue of Nicolaus Copernicus was placed in the Collegium Maius courtyard. This statue was moved in 1953 and is now near the Collegium Novum. Much of the university's growth until 1918 happened in the Grzegórzecka and Kopernika areas. The medical department, Collegium Medicum, moved to a new site east of the city center. It was expanded with new teaching hospitals. This "medical campus" is still there today. By the late 1930s, almost 6,000 students attended the university. As a major education center in independent Poland, the university received government help to buy land for new buildings. Many homes for students and professors were built.

The most important project of this time was the creation of the Jagiellonian Library. The library's huge building started being built in 1931. It was finished just before World War II began in 1939. This allowed the university's many book collections to move to their new home.

Modern Times and Growth

On November 6, 1939, after Germany invaded Poland, 184 professors were arrested. They were sent to a concentration camp during an operation called Sonderaktion Krakau. The university, like all other schools in Poland, was closed for the rest of World War II. The university reopened after the war ended in 1945. However, the new government in Poland did not like the university's old ways. The faculty was controlled by the Communists in 1954. By 1957, the Polish government decided to build new facilities near Jordan Park. They also expanded other smaller buildings. Building work was slow, and many goals were not met. This poor management led some scholars to criticize the government for not caring about education. Some new buildings, like the Collegium Paderevianum, were built with money from Ignacy Paderewski.

By 1989, Poland had changed from a Communist government. In that same year, the Jagiellonian University bought its first piece of land in Pychowice, Kraków. Starting in 2000, construction began on a new group of university buildings, called the Third Campus. This new campus, officially named the '600th Anniversary Campus', was built with a new LifeScience Park. This park is managed by the Jagiellonian Centre for Innovation, which is the university's research group. Public money for this project was about 946.5 million zlotys, or 240 million euros. Poland joining the European Union in 2004 greatly helped the Jagiellonian University. It received much more money from the government and European groups. This allowed it to create new departments, research centers, and better support its students and teachers.

Working with Other Universities

The university's progress in Poland and worldwide is clear from its well-known research. Scientists and doctors from the Collegium Medicum do important studies. For example, in heart surgery, urology, and neurology. Their work often leads to new ways of treatment. Their findings have been published in international science magazines. University archaeologists lead digs at ancient sites around the world. These include places in Egypt, Cyprus, and Central America. Astronomers take part in big international projects. The work of university bio-technologists has also been published in important journals.

The Jagiellonian University works with many universities in English-speaking countries. These include the University of Cambridge, University of Melbourne, and University of Chicago. It also partners with the London School of Economics and the University of Rochester. In French-speaking countries, it works with the Sorbonne and the University of Montpellier. The university also has strong partnerships with Heidelberg University in Germany. It offers special studies in German law with Heidelberg University and Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.

Other partnerships exist with Charles University Prague, University of Vienna, University of Tokyo, and Saint Petersburg State University.

University Libraries

The Jagiellonian Library's main site

The Jagiellonian Library extension

The university's main library is the Jagiellonian Library (Biblioteka Jagiellońska). It is one of Poland's largest, with almost 6.5 million books. It is part of the Polish National Libraries system. It has a famous collection of old handwritten books from the medieval times. This includes Copernicus' De Revolutionibus and the Balthasar Behem Codex. The library also has a large collection of secret political writings from when Poland was under Communist rule (1945-1989).

The Jagiellonian Library is thought to have started at the same time as the university, in 1364. However, it did not have one main building. Instead, it had smaller collections in different departments. The largest collection was in Collegium Maius. After 1775, during reforms by the Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (which was like the first Ministry of Education), the university's small libraries were combined into one public collection in Collegium Maius. Even when Poland was divided by other countries, the library continued to grow. Its collections were made public in 1812.

Since 1932, the library has been a "legal deposit" library. This means it has the right to receive a copy of every book published in Poland. In 1940, the library finally got its own new building. This building has been made bigger twice, most recently from 1995 to 2001. During Second World War, library workers helped secret underground universities. Since the 1990s, more and more of the library's collection has been put online.

Besides the Jagiellonian Library, the university also has a large medical library and many other specialized libraries. The university's archives also add to its collections. These archives go all the way back to when the university was founded and record its entire history.

University Rankings

Departments and Schools

The university is divided into different departments, also called faculties. These departments have different ways of organizing themselves. This is partly because of their history and partly because of what they need to do. Teaching and research at the Jagiellonian University are organized by these departments. There are also several other institutes.

• Law and Administration
• Medicine
• Pharmacy and Medical Analysis
• Health Care
• Philosophy
• History
• Philology (study of language and literature)
• Polish Language and Literature
• Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science
• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Earth Sciences
• Management and Social Communication
• International and Political Studies
• Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology
• University Center of Veterinary Medicine (a joint department with Agricultural University of Kraków)
• National Center of Synchrotron Radiation SOLARIS (a special research facility)

The Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum works with these hospitals and clinics:

• University Hospital in Krakow-Prokocim
• Children's University Hospital in Krakow
• University Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation in Zakopane
• Dental University Clinic in Krakow
• John Paul II's Specialist Hospital in Krakow

A new University Hospital opened in Prokocim in 2019. This was a very large project, costing over 1.2 billion zlotys. As of 2022, the University Hospital in Krakow is the biggest public hospital in Poland that serves a wide region. It has 37 clinical departments, 12 diagnostic and research institutes, and 71 outpatient units.

Famous People Who Studied Here

Notable Teachers and Researchers

Heraldic frieze on the building of Collegium Maius showing symbols of important people and places.

• Stanisław of Skarbimierz (1360–1431), university leader, theologian, lawyer.
• Paweł Włodkowic (1370–1435), lawyer, diplomat, and politician.
• Albert Brudzewski (1445–1497), astronomer and mathematician.
• Maciej Miechowita (1457–1523), historian, writer, geographer, doctor.
• Jan Brożek (1585–1652), mathematician, doctor, and astronomer.
• Franz Mertens (1840–1927), mathematician.
• Henryk Jordan (1842–1907), professor of childbirth.
• Walery Jaworski (1849–1924), stomach and gut doctor.
• Ludwik Rydygier (1850–1920), general surgeon.
• Albert Wojciech Adamkiewicz (1850–1921), pathologist, discovered the Artery of Adamkiewicz.
• Napoleon Cybulski (1854–1919), a pioneer in the study of hormones.
• Władysław Natanson (1864–1937), physicist.
• Stanisław Estreicher (1869–1939), founder of the Jagiellonian University Museum.
• Tadeusz Estreicher (1871–1952), a pioneer in very cold temperatures (cryogenics).
• Marian Smoluchowski (1872–1917), a pioneer of statistical physics.
• Franciszek Bujak (1875–1953), historian.
• Stanisław Kutrzeba (1876–1946), university leader, General Secretary of the Polish Academy of Learning.
• Andrzej Gawroński (1885–1927), founder of the Polish Oriental Society, expert in Sanskrit.
• Stanisław Kot (1885–1975), historian and politician.
• Tadeusz Sulimirski (1898–1983), historian and archaeologist, expert on the ancient Sarmatians.
• Henryk Niewodniczański (1900–1968), physicist.
• Adam Vetulani (1901–1976), historian of medieval and church law.
• Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012), poet, won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature.
• Bogdan Baranowski (1927–2014), chemist.
• Ryszard Gryglewski (born 1932), pharmacologist and doctor, discovered prostacyclin.
• Andrzej Szczeklik (1932–2012), physician.
• Jan Woleński (born 1940), philosopher.
• Piotr Sztompka (born 1944), sociologist.
• Jan Potempa (born 1955), biologist, won the 2011 Prize of the Foundation for Polish Science.
• Sławomir Kołodziej (born 1961), mathematician.
• Krzysztof Kościelniak (born 1965), historian.

Student Groups

In 1851, the university's first student science group was started. In 2021, there were over 70 student science groups at the Jagiellonian University. Most of these are connected to the Collegium Medicum. Their goal is usually to show off students' science projects. They do this by organizing talks, science trips, and international student conferences. An example is the International Workshop for Young Mathematicians, organized by the Zaremba Association of Mathematicians.

See also

• List of medieval universities
• Nawojka, the university's legendary first female student from the 1400s.
• Sonderaktion Krakau, a German operation against professors and academics from the University of Kraków.
• Neuronus IBRO & IRUN Neuroscience Forum