JU Museum Collegium Maius presents an exhibition devoted to student corporations in Kraków. The items on display are accompanied by an outline of history of these organisations.
The concept of “academic corporation” may sound foreign to contemporary Polish students and academics. Similarly, it is relatively uncommon to see people wearing student caps and sashes whose colours indicate membership in a given organisations. Yet, before the Second World War, corporations played an important role in the Polish academic reality. Their members actively participated in university life, engaging in educational initiatives and promoting patriotic ideas and attitudes.
The exhibition presents insignia of Kraków’s academic corporations (sashes, ribbons, banners, caps, etc.), along with an outline of history of these organisations. Additionally, due to the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Polish national sovereignty in 1918, the organisers put much emphasis on the important contribution of academic corporations to the struggle for the country’s independence.
The exhibits displayed in Aula Jagiellońska room can be viewed by visitors to the permanent exhibition of Collegium Maius.