Lviv University, officially the Ivan Franko National University of
Lviv, is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine. The
Jesuits had tried without success to create the university in 1589,
since establishing another college in Poland was seen as a threat by
authorities of Kraków's Jagiellonian University, who did not
want a rival and for many years managed to halt plans of the Jesuits.
But the Jesuits did establish a collegium in the city of Lviv in 1608.
The postal envelope below commemorates the 400th anniversary of that college.
UKRAINE, 2008, postal stationary (envelope) marking the 4th centenary
of the Jesuit college
and featuring the library of the (now) Ivan Franko National University
of Lviv
On January 20, 1661 King John II Casimir of
Poland (himself a former Jesuit) issued the diploma granting the
Jesuit Collegium of Lviv "the honor of the academy and the title
of the university" with the right to teach all contemporary university
subjects and to certify the scientific degrees of bachelor, licentiate,
master anddoctor.
The teaching at Lviv University was conducted on the model of other
European academies. The University built and bought new premises, and
possessed a library and the largest printing press in Lviv. The Jesuit
collegium existed as such until 1758, when King Augustus III issued
a decree, which described the collegium as an academic school, with
two departments: theology and philosophy. In 1772 Lviv was annexed by
Austria and the Society of Jesus was dissolved by the government in
Vienna. The school became the State Academy, and twelve years later was
again granted university status. After several closures—including
one by the Soviets during World War II—and changes of name, it
continues today as the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, one
of the most prestigious institutions of the country.
