Collegium Maius (Great College), Krakow (must see)

The Great College is the oldest building of Jagiellonian University and one of the oldest university structures in Poland.

Its story begins in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. In 1400, after the university had been re-established, the reigning king donated a corner townhouse to the academy. From this modest start, over the course of the 15th century, adjacent buildings were acquired and merged. Fires in 1462 and 1492 damaged parts of the complex, but reconstruction and expansion after these events gave the building its late-Gothic appearance: a quadrangle around a courtyard with arcaded galleries.

For hundreds of years, Collegium Maius was the heart of academic life in Kraków. Lectures took place on the ground floor, while professors lived and worked on the upper floors. During the early modern period, and especially the Renaissance, the university became a renowned center for law, medicine, theology, mathematics, and astronomy, drawing students from across Europe. Among the students who passed through these halls was Nicolaus Copernicus, who studied here in the 1490s before going on to lay the foundations for modern astronomy.

In the 19th century, the building’s role shifted. After 1840, it was repurposed as the university library. Later, following World War II and restoration work, the Great College found new life as a museum: the Jagiellonian University Museum.

Today, the building is valuable for several reasons. Its peaceful inner courtyard can be accessed directly from the main gateway. Like many courtyards from the same period, its appeal lies in the elegant brick arcades that line the perimeter of the space. Highlights inside the college include the Common Room and the Great Hall. They can be reached via a broad stone staircase visible along the northern side of the courtyard. A wooden door awaits on the left once you reach the top of the staircase. The Common Room used to serve as the main gathering spot for scholars and it is filled with Gothic furnishings and portraits of university rectors. Meanwhile, the Great Hall is an atmospheric room, as it was used to host lectures and ceremonies. It features carved wooden benches, vaulted ceilings and portraits of notable professors.

Another side of the museum showcases a remarkable collection of old scientific instruments: astrolabes, globes (including an early 16th-century globe on which the newly discovered Americas appear), and astronomical, cartographic, chemical, and physical instruments used by scholars.

A charming modern touch is the clock mounted above the northwest arcade of the courtyard. Every two hours between 9 AM and 5 PM, it triggers a small mechanical procession of historical figures tied to the university’s past along with medieval music — a whimsical nod to centuries of academic tradition.