University of Wrocław facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
University of Wrocław

Uniwersytet Wrocławski
Latin: Universitas Wratislaviensis
Former names	German: Leopoldina, Universität Breslau, Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau (before 1945)
Type	Public
Established	21 October 1702; 322 years ago (1702-10-21) (reorganised 1945)
President	Robert Olkiewicz
Administrative staff	3,569
Students	20,293 (12.2023)
Location	Wrocław , Lower Silesian Voivodeship , Poland
Campus	Urban
Colors	Blue

The University of Wrocław (called Uniwersytet Wrocławski in Polish) is a big public university in Wrocław, Poland. It is a place where students go to learn and researchers work on new discoveries. It is the largest university in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship region.

Since 1945, over 100,000 students have graduated from this university. Many of its researchers have won important awards for their scientific work. The university was re-established in its current form in 1945. It took over from the German University of Breslau. After World War II, professors from the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv helped rebuild the university. The buildings were badly damaged during the Battle of Breslau in 1945.

History of the University

Early Beginnings: Leopoldina

Proposed design of Leopoldina (never fully completed), 1760

The idea for a university in Wrocław goes back a long time. In 1505, King Vladislaus II of Hungary of Poland tried to start a school called Generale litterarum Gymnasium. However, this plan did not work out. The Pope said no for political reasons. Also, many wars and opposition from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków stopped it.

The first successful start happened much later, in 1702. Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I signed a special document. This document officially created the university. It was named Leopoldina after him.

Before becoming a university, the buildings were used as a Jesuit school since 1638. In 1702, Emperor Leopold I turned it into a university. It focused on philosophy and Catholic theology. The university opened on November 15, 1702. It was a Catholic school in a mostly Protestant city. This made it important for the Catholic Church in the region. Later, when Silesia became part of Prussia, the university changed. It still taught Catholic clergy but lost some of its earlier purpose.

Changes and Growth: Silesian Friedrich Wilhelm University

The University of Breslau, 19th century

The main building of the University of Wrocław

After Napoleon defeated Prussia, the Prussian state was reorganized. In 1811, the Leopoldina university joined with the Protestant Viadrina University. This university was previously in Frankfurt (Oder). The new combined university was called the Königliche Universität zu Breslau. In 1911, it was renamed the Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau. This was to honor its founder, Frederick William III of Prussia.

At first, the university had five main study areas: philosophy, medicine, law, Protestant theology, and Catholic theology. Over time, it grew a lot. It added many different scientific institutes and clinical centers. By 1884, the university had 1,481 students and 131 teachers.

Aula Leopoldina

The university's library was very large. In 1885, it had about 400,000 books. These books came from other old universities and monasteries. The university also had an observatory and a five-hectare botanical garden. There was also a natural history museum and various scientific collections.

Many famous scholars taught at the University of Breslau in the late 1800s. These included Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, Ferdinand Cohn, and Gustav Kirchhoff.

The university was a diverse place. In 1817, about 16% of the students were Polish. By the late 1800s, about 10% were Polish and 16% were Jewish. These groups, along with German students, formed their own student clubs. Polish student groups included Concordia and Polonia. Jewish student groups were Viadrina and the Student Union.

As Germany moved towards a harmful political idea called Nazism, the university was affected. Polish students faced unfair treatment. In 1939, all Polish students were forced to leave. The university even declared that no Polish person would ever study there again. During World War II, some German scholars from the university worked on ideas to justify German control over Polish lands. They also tried to present cities like Kraków as German.

In January 2015, the university did something important. It gave back 262 PhD degrees that were taken away during the Nazi period. These degrees belonged to Jewish scholars and others who were seen as against the Nazi ideas.

Rebirth: University of Wrocław

The University Church, vault

After the Siege of Breslau, the city was taken by the Red Army in May 1945. Breslau became part of Poland and was renamed Wrocław. The first Polish academics arrived in Wrocław in May 1945. They took over the university buildings, which were 70% destroyed. Some books from the university library were lost or burned during the fighting in 1945.

Workers quickly repaired some buildings. Many new professors came to Wrocław, especially from the pre-war Polish Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów and Stefan Batory University in Wilno. After the war, many people from these areas moved to Wrocław. By mid-1948, over 60% of professors at Wrocław University were from these eastern Polish regions. Stanisław Kulczyński from the University of Lwów became the first president of the new Polish universities in Wrocław.

The University of Wrocław was officially re-established as a Polish state university on August 24, 1945. The first lecture was given on November 15, 1945. Between 1952 and 1989, the university was named after Bolesław Bierut, a Polish leader at the time.

In 2015, the university restored academic degrees that were taken from German Jews by the Nazis. This happened almost 80 years after the degrees were stripped. The university believes about 262 people were affected this way.

What Can You Study?

Collegium Maximum of the University of Wrocław seen from the Old Town

Collegium Anthropologicum on Kuźnicza Street

Stanisław Baranowski Spitsbergen Polar Station

Astronomical Institute of the Wrocław University

The University of Wrocław has 10 main departments, called faculties. These faculties offer 44 different areas of study. Most classes are taught in Polish, but some are in English. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees. Degrees from the University of Wrocław are recognized all over the world.

Here are the faculties:

• Faculty of Biotechnology
• Faculty of Chemistry
• Faculty of Philology (which studies languages and literature)
• Faculty of Physics and Astronomy
• Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
• Faculty of Biological Sciences
• Faculty of History and Pedagogy (which studies teaching)
• Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics

University Leaders (Rectors)

A rector is the main leader of a university. Here is a list of the rectors of the University of Wrocław since 1945:

Famous People Connected to the University

Many notable people have studied or worked at the University of Wrocław. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Breslavia para niños

• Wrocław University of Technology
• List of early modern universities in Europe
• List of Jesuit sites
• Academic Festival Overture