Jagiellonian University

A king started a big school.

He wanted smart people to help his land. It is in a city in Poland. It is very old. A queen helped the school too. She gave her jewels to help it. Many students study there now. They learn many things.

The school has a large library for books. It is a special place to learn.

The Jagiellonian University is a famous school in Kraków, Poland.

King Casimir III the Great started it in 1364. He wanted to train smart people to help his country. Later, Queen Jadwiga helped the school grow. She even gave her own jewelry to pay for students.

The school had a golden age between 1500 and 1535. During this time, it was a top place for learning. A famous man named Nicolaus Copernicus studied there. He wrote a very important book about space.

The university faced hard times later. Some leaders tried to close it or use its halls for other things. But the school stayed strong. It built new places like the Collegium Novum in 1887.

Today, more than 35,000 students study there. They learn in many different subjects. The school also has a large library.

It holds many old and special books.

The Jagiellonian University is a famous place for learning in Kraków, Poland.

It is the oldest university in Poland. It is also one of the oldest schools still running in the world. The university is located in the center of the city. Its buildings are part of the Kraków Old Town. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This school began a long time ago in the 14th century. King Casimir III the Great wanted to help his country. He knew Poland needed educated people like lawyers. He wanted people to help with laws and courts. Pope Urban V gave him permission to start the school. A royal document was issued on 12 May 1364. The city council also gave the school special rights.

After the King died, the school had some hard times. It did not have enough money for a while. Queen Jadwiga helped save the school in the 1390s. She and her husband, Władysław II Jagiełło, bought a building on Żydowska Street. The Queen even gave her own jewelry to the school. This helped the school enroll 203 students. Later, the university grew and built the Collegium Maius.

The university had a golden age between 1500 and 1535. During this time, many people came to study there. More than 40 percent of students came from other lands. Famous people like Nicolaus Copernicus studied at the university. He wrote a landmark book about space. The school also became a leader in math and astronomy. Many scholars came from places like Germany and Spain.

Today, the university is still a very important place. It has thirteen main faculties for many subjects. There are also three faculties in the Collegium Medicum. More than 35,000 students study there now. They study in 166 different fields. Most students learn in Polish, but some use English or German. The university also has a huge library.

It holds many old and beautiful books.

The Jagiellonian University is a major public research institution located in Kraków, Poland.

As the oldest university in Poland, it is also one of the world's oldest continuously operating schools. The campus sits within the Kraków Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university serves as a center for Polish culture and European intellectual history. It currently employs about 4,000 academics to support its large student body. More than 35,000 students attend the university to study 166 different fields. The institution is divided into thirteen main faculties and three specialized faculties within the Collegium Medicum.

The university's origins trace back to the mid-14th century. King Casimir III the Great recognized that Poland required an educated class of professionals. He specifically needed lawyers to manage the nation's laws, courts, and offices. After receiving permission from Pope Urban V, the King issued a royal charter on 12 May 1364. The city council also issued documents granting privileges to the institution, then called the Studium Generale. Following the King's death, the university faced periods of instability. Lectures were held in various locations, including churches and professors' private homes.

A major turning point occurred in the 1390s through the efforts of Queen Jadwiga. She and her husband, Władysław II Jagiełło, worked to restore the institution. Instead of building new structures, they purchased an existing building on Żydowska Street in 1399. Queen Jadwiga donated her personal jewelry to fund the university's growth. This generous gift allowed the school to enroll 203 students. In 1400, Władysław II Jagiełło reformed the university using the model of the Sorbonne University. He also established the Faculty of Theology during this period.

The university experienced rapid expansion and academic specialization during the 15th and 16th centuries. It was the first university in Europe to establish independent chairs in Mathematics and Astronomy. To accommodate new faculty, the university constructed the Collegium Maius, featuring a famous quadrangle and arcade. This building helped establish the university's reputation across Central Europe. During the Renaissance, the school became a diverse hub for international scholars. In the second half of the 15th century, over 40 percent of students were from outside the Kingdom of Poland. Students arrived from places such as Lithuania, Russia, Hungary, Bohemia, Germany, and Spain.

A "golden era" for the university took place between 1500 and 1535. During the first decade of the 16th century, the student population reached 3,215. This period also saw the early development of the Jagiellonian Library. The university produced many famous figures, including the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus studied here and later wrote the landmark work *De revolutionibus orbium coelestium*. The university has also been home to four Nobel laureates in literature. These include students Ivo Andrić and Wisława Szymborska, and teachers Czesław Miłosz and Olga Tokarczuk.

The university faced significant challenges during the later centuries of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Economic and political decline led to a drop in student attendance. By the late 18th century, many buildings had fallen into such disrepair that they were nearly useless. One archive entry noted that lecture halls could be rented out as laundries. After the partitions of Poland, the university became part of the Austrian Empire in 1846. The Austrian authorities were often hostile to the institution. They even converted part of the Collegium Maius into a grain store. However, Emperor Ferdinand I eventually issued a decree to maintain the university.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the university entered a period of renewed growth. Professors Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski successfully demonstrated the liquefaction of nitrogen and oxygen in 1883. New structures like the neo-gothic Collegium Novum were built during this time. By the late 1930s, the student population had grown to almost 6,000. This era also saw the construction of the monumental Jagiellonian Library building, which began in 1931. Despite the outbreak of war in 1939, the university remains a vital part of the global academic community. Its graduates and faculty continue to be elected to prestigious societies like the Royal Society and the British Academy.