Collegium Maius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Collegium Maius or the Grand College in Kraków, Poland, (Polish: Collegium Maius w Krakowie), is the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University dating back to the 15th-century. It is located at the corner of Jagiellońska and Św. Anny streets.
Contents |
[edit] History
The 630-year-old Jagiellonian University moved to the building for the first time in 1400, when King Władysław II Jagiełło purchased the house with funds from his late wife, Queen Jadwiga.
The Grand College, or Collegium Maius, was rebuilt by the end of the 15th century as a late-Gothic structure around a vast courtyard with surrounding arcades. A well was built in the center in 1517. Professors lived and worked upstairs, while lectures were held downstairs.
In the 1490s Collegium Maius counted among its students Copernicus, the astronomer who revolutionized the European concept of the universe.
[edit] Cultural significance
The Collegium Maius Museum features ancient lecture rooms, communal halls, former professors’ quarters, a library and a treasury featuring the Gothic sceptres of rectors and the famous golden ‘Jagiellonian globe’. The exhibits include medieval scientific instruments, globes, paintings, collectibles, furniture, coins and medals.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
