Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University is the oldest in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe, as well as several magnificent churches. Choose any street going west from the square, such as St. Anna Street. A small door under a Flemish-style canopy leads to the oldest university building, the Collegium Majus (ul. Jagiellonska 15, open Mon, Wed, Fri 10.00-14.20, Tue, Wed, Thu 10.00-17.20, Sat 10.00-14.00, entrance fee). This beautiful 15th century Gothic structure with a courtyard is decorated with vaulted galleries. Note the fanciful tops of the drainpipes in the form of medieval dragons and other similar creatures. King Casimir founded the university in 1364, but its golden age was during the reign of King Jagiello, whose name it now bears.
General information
It is believed that it was at the Jagiellonian University that Copernicus studied in the 16th century.A guided tour of the Collegium Majus includes a visit to the ornate lecture halls, treasury, library and professors’ dining room. You can see several items related to the university’s most famous alumnus and his theory that revolutionized our understanding of the universe, including astronomical instruments, a log book inscribed “Nicolaus Copernicus” and a very rare globe dating back to 1520 with the earliest known depiction of the Americas. Tours are generally conducted in English, although the guide, who usually accompanies the group, speaks several European languages. Pope John Paul II was elected honorary doctor of the university, and Wislawa Szymborska, the last Polish winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, donated a medal and a significant portion of the prize to the museum.
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