In the 18th century, during the war with Prussia, the university building was used as a field hospital, stable, storeroom and even as a prison. Prussians emerged victorious in the war which resulted in the university's decline. In 1811, King Frederick Wilhelm III merge the Protestant Viadrina University of Frankfurt with the Wroclaw Leopoldina, to form Wroclaw University.

Another dramatic moment for the Wroclaw's university came in the Second World War, during the siege of Breslau when the Nazis decided to relocate their headquarters into the University Library. They undertook a desperate move to use books as fortifications and, unfortunately, part of the collection of the University Library was burned.

At the start of the 19th century, the University of Wroclaw had five faculties: philosophy, catholic theology, evangelical theology, law and medicine. In the decades that followed, the university has been rapidly expanded by other sections, laboratories and also a natural museum. In the short span of one hundred years, the University of Wroclaw produced nine Nobel Prize winners: Theodor Mommsen, Philip Lenard, Eduard Buchner, Paul Ehrlich, Fritz Haber, Friedrich Bergius, Erwin Schrödinger, Otto Stern and Max Born.

From the perspective of the river Odra, the building amazes with its 170-metre-long Baroque facade. Entering the University of Wroclaw, the visitor is welcomed by the personifications of the four cardinal virtues: Justice, Valor, Wisdom and Moderation. The initials of the founder of the University – Emperor Leopold I – are engraved on Habsburg eagles that adorn the doors leading to the vestibule.

Standing in the University Square, it is impossible to miss the monument of a naked fencer with a sword, created in 1904 by H. Lederer. This much loved by students sight is interpreted as a warning! A career of a student may abruptly come to an end when passion for cards and beer becomes more important than learning. In this cautionary tale, the student stands naked because he lost all his money and clothes while gambling!

On the ground and the first floor of the university building, the Museum of Wroclaw University is situated. The exhibition presents the history of the university since its foundation in 1702 and includes items related to history, e.g. furniture, equipment, as well as scientific instruments and archives related to the university and its people.

The Museum of Wroclaw University comprises of four buildings: Aula Leopoldina, Under the Pillar, Mathematics Tower and the Oratorium Marianum Music Hall. Named after the Austrian Emperor Leopold, Aula Lepoldina is considered to be the most outstanding baroque interior in Lower Silesia. It represents a harmonious blend of architecture, painting, sculpture and furnishing. The interior features illusionist frescoes made by J. Ch. Handke, stucco works by I.A. Provisore and impressive sculptures by F.J. Mangold. It also features a throne with Emperor Leopold I, and at the sides his two sons, heirs – Joseph I and Charles VI – are standing. As far as the second building is concerned, in the past there was an astronomical observatory in the Mathematics Tower, because the 17th geographical longitude runs through the place. The Mathematics Tower also offers a great panoramic view of the city. The last building, Oratorium Marianum, is a music room which held concerts of music world celebrities including Karol Lipinski, Ferenc Liszt, Johannes Brahms or Edward Grieg.

Tags: Tourist Route

Related locations by tags: The Main Market Square | The Town Hall | The Salt Square and Old Butchers' Stalls | St. Elisabeth's Church & Mary Magdalene's Church | The Dwarfs of Wroclaw