Krakow for a Weekend. Why is it Worth to Go to the Jagiellonian University?

With the first beams of October sun and the veritable effusion of colours of Krakow’s Planty Park, Lesser Poland gets crowded by university students, meaning that the new academic year has started. This magical time of year is a great opportunity to visit the university walls, even your university years are behind you. Here, you can visit one of the most famous and, at the same time, most oldest Polish universities – the Jagiellonian University, which offers an impressive number of fields of study, but also invites visitors.

Why is the Jagiellonian University Such an Important Landmark?

The Krakow Academy – as the Jagiellonian University was called in the beginning, was founded by king Casimir III the Great in 1364. Then, in 1400, queen Hedwig and king Ladislaus II Jagiełło gave it a new life, and also the current name, which was officially adopted in 1818. This place witnessed many historic events, which we can now contemplate, walking through its numerous nooks and crannies available to tourists.

Visit the Jagiellonian University in Krakow

Wondering what to see and where to start exploring the University grounds? What follows is a must-see list, when visiting the Jagiellonian University!

Collegium Maius

This oldest Gothic building of the university at ul. Jagiellońska is like a travel in time – you marvel at the galleries, the Musical Clock, portal from the demolished City Hall, the statue of king Casimir III the Great from ca. 1380, the Jagiellonian Globe, as well as permanent and temporary museum exhibitions. Here, among other exhibitions you can see one with Andrzej Wajda’s awards (including the Oscar), Libraria (library), Stuba Communis (old dining hall), treasury, professors’ rooms, assembly hall (with valuable painting collection), or interactive exhibitions entitled the Sciences of Old and Not Old. The renovated and recently opened again Collegium Minus – a Gothic Building in perfect condition – is also worth seeing. It is located just behind the professors’ gardens.

Collegium Novum

One of the most characteristic buildings of the Jagiellonian University and Krakow itself – built in the years 1883-1867, Collegium Novum with the famous lecture hall 56, where the Nazis arrested professors, senior lecturers and assistants of the Krakow universities and then transported them to concentration camps. Here, art lovers with appreciate the magnificent interior of the building, including Lectorium Nicolai Copernici, and an assembly hall with portraits of the Jagiellonian University’s rectors, king Casimir III the Great, queen Hedwig, king Ladislaus II Jagiełło, and a painting of Copernicus by Jan Matejko. In front of the neighbouring Collegium Witkowski building, you can see a monument of the great astronomer in student’s garb.

“Columbarium” – the Department of Polish Philology of the Jagiellonian University and ul. Św. Anny

If you want to retrace the steps of Karol Wojtyła (the later pope John Paul II), you can go and visit the department where he was studying, located at ul. Gołębia (Polish for Pigeon Street, hence the “Columbary”), just behind Collegium Novum. If you go further, towards ul. Św. Anny, it will definitely be interesting to visit Hugo Kołłątaj Collegium and the collegiate church with the breathtaking icons, paintings, stuccos, and another monument of Nicolaus Copernicus.

How Else Will the Jagiellonian University Surprise You?

Apart from the university route, there are also numerous museums to see. Besides the aforementioned Collegium Maius, you can also visit the Jagiellonian University’s Museum of Pharmacy and several other really interesting museums of Collegium Medicum, the Botany Garden Museum (and the garden itself, full of unique plants), or the Astronomical Observatory of the Nicolaus Copernicus Institute of the Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Applied Information Technology.

Summary

As you can see, there is no way to get bored here, and you can easily feel the true campus spirit in the air. However, if you still need more, and you want to get to the essence of university life – no worries, there is plenty to choose from! E.g. you can go watch a spectacle by the Jagiellonian University’s “Słowianki” Song and Dance Ensemble, or go to a concert of the Academic Choir, which adds splendour to the most important celebrations, and takes part in numerous competitions and festivals!