The University of Kraków at the time of Nicolaus Copernicus' studies (1491-1495) experienced a period of rapid development. A number of factors contributed to this: reconciliation with the papacy due to the rejection of the conciliarist idea; the Second Peace of Toruń (1466), ending the 13-year war with the Teutonic Order; and finally taking over Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia by Ladislaus, the eldest son of King Casimir the Jagiellonian. During this time, the city of Kraków became an important political, economic and cultural centre. This resulted in an influx of students from Silesia, Germany, Prussia, Hungary and other countries. At that time, foreigners slightly outnumbered the native group. The university had four faculties: Liberal Arts, Law, Medicine and Theology. The faculties were centred on three colleges: Collegium Maius, Collegium Minus and Collegium Canonicum. Collegium Maius was the most important, as it hosted classes in liberal arts, including mathematics and astronomy. Uniquely, the University of Kraków had two chairs of astronomy, the holders of which could devote themselves to this science for a longer period of time, conduct observations and compile calendars. For this reason, the University was famous in Europe for its high level of teaching of mathematics and astronomy. In addition, ideological pluralism prevailed, as manifested in the lecturers' free choice of commentaries on the works of ancient authors, above all Aristotle. As a result, they were open to different cosmological concepts. At this time, the University was able to provide decent lodging for its students, with an adequate number of places in the dormitories. In 1491 a resolution was passed obliging all students - with some exceptions - to live in the dormitories or parish schools of Kraków. Nicolaus Copernicus, together with his brother Andrew, was entered into the university register in the winter semester of 1491. His studies probably focused on natural philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and astrology. The notes he made in Kraków attest to the high level of scholarship he already possessed at that time. According to later tradition, he was a pupil of Wojciech Brudzewski (Albertus de Brudzewo), an eminent mathematician and astronomer. He attended lectures at the Collegium Maius. In Kraków, as he himself admitted towards the end of his life, he gained a solid grounding in the sciences, which he later developed in Ermland. He did not, however, gain any degrees from the Faculty of Liberal Arts, which was not unusual in those days. Copernicus already intended to study law in Italy, for which degrees of this kind were not necessary.
Uniwersytet Krakowski w czasach studiów Mikołaja Kopernika (1491-1495) przeżywał okres bujnego rozwoju. W tym czasie Kraków stał się ważnym ośrodkiem politycznym, gospodarczym i kulturalnym, co spowodowało napływ studentów ze Śląska, Niemiec, Prus, Węgier i innych krajów. Specyfiką Uniwersytetu było istnienie wówczas dwóch katedr astronomii, z tego powodu słynął w Europie z wysokiego poziomu nauczania jej oraz matematyki. Mikołaj Kopernik wraz z bratem Andrzejem wpisał się do metryki uniwersyteckiej w semestrze zimowym 1491 roku. Jego studia koncentrowały się zapewne na filozofii przyrody, matematyce, astronomii i astrologii. Notatki poczynione przez niego w Krakowie świadczą o wysokich umiejętnościach, jakie już wówczas posiadał. Niniejszy artykuł przybliża czasy studiów Mikołaja Kopernika w Krakowie na tle dziejów Uniwersytetu Krakowskiego i miasta.
