University of Wroclaw
| Uniwersytet Wrocławski | |
| Latin: Universitas Wratislaviensis | |
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Former names
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German: Leopoldina, Universität Breslau, Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau (before 1945) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1702 (reorganised 1945) |
| Students | 25 721 |
| Location | Wrocław, Poland |
| Website | uni.wroc.pl |
The University of Wrocław (UWr) (Polish: Uniwersytet Wrocławski; German: Universität Breslau; Latin: Universitas Wratislaviensis) is a public research university located in Wrocław, Poland. Founded in 1702, it is one of the oldest collegiate-level institutions of higher education in Central Europe with around 30,000 students (2012). Throughout its history, it remained a great learning center of German-speaking countries until territorial changes of Germany after World War II. Following the territorial changes of Poland after World War II academics primarily from Jan Kazimierz University of Lwów restored the university building heavily damaged and split as a result of the Battle of Breslau (1945). The first lectures were conducted in the halls with broken windows.
The University is currently the largest in Lower Silesian Voivodeship with over 100,000 graduates since 1945 including some 1,900 researchers among whom many received the highest awards for their contribution to the development of scientific scholarship.
The oldest mention of the university in Wrocław comes from the foundation deed signed on July 20, 1505, by King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (also known as Władysław Jagiellończyk) for the Generale litterarum Gymnasium in Wrocław. However, the new academic institution requested by the town council wasn't built because the King's deed was rejected by Pope Julius II for political reasons. Also, the numerous wars and opposition from the Cracow Academy might have played a role. The first successful founding deed known as the Aurea bulla fundationis Universitatis Wratislaviensis was signed two centuries later, on October 1, 1702, by the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I of the House of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia.
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