Collegium Maius
Once the building served the students and faculty who lived and worked here; today, its interior holds an exhibition dedicated to the history of the oldest Polish university.
Krakow University was established on the initiative of King Casimir the Great in 1364, as the second (after Prague) in Central Europe. At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries the seat of the Krakow Academy became the Collegium Maius, a magnificent example of Gothic architecture. Once the building served the students and faculty who lived and worked here; today, its interior holds an exhibition dedicated to the history of the oldest Polish university. The exhibits include antique scientific instruments and the Rector's insignia: A sceptre from the 15th century, a chain and rings. A special place is occupied by the Jagiellonian Globe, the first known globe on which America, just "discovered" is located. In the Copernicus Room (the astronomer studied in Krakow in the years 1491-1495) is a unique set of astronomical and astrological instruments from the second half of the 15th century, and an Arab astrolabe from 1054. The museum also has a valuable collection of paintings and memorabilia from graduates of the university, who include King Jan III Sobieski, Karol Wojtyła, later Pope John Paul II, the writer Stanisław Lem, the poet and Nobel laureate Wisława Szymborska, and the anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski.