The college and its library were founded in 1572 by Bishop Adam Konarski [pl].[1][2] According to historian Stanisław Załęski, Konarski played an integral role in the founding of the college by acquiring funding and support from the local community.[1] Over 100 individuals donated books to the university in the first decades.[2] Other individuals associated with the founding include Fr. Wujek and several Jesuit priests.[3][1] In its early years, the college also managed to attract lecturers from Scotland, including James Bosgrave and William Ogilvie.[4]
The founding of the college in Poznań caused controversy with the Kraków Academy, which considered itself to be dominant over other educational institutions.[5][6] The Kraków Academy managed to close a Jesuit college in Kraków and stall the elevation of the college in Poznań to university status.[5]
An original record of King Sigismund's elevation of the college
The college was eventually elevated to the status of a university in the 17th century by King Sigismund Vasa.[7] In 1655, during the Deluge, the Swedish army entered Poznań and confiscated the contents of the library at the college. The volumes were transferred to the library at Uppsala University through Claes Rålamb.[2][8] By 1700, the college also operated a printing house.[9]
In 1773, the National Education Commission shut down both the Jesuit college and the neighboring Lubrański Academy.[10] By the 1780s, the National Education Commission restructured the Jesuit college into a high school.[11] Several of the Jesuit buildings are used in the modern period to house the local government.[12]
^ abcZałęski, S. (1905). Jezuici w Polsce. Vol 4. Issue 1. Portugal: Drukiem i nakładem, drukarni ludowej. p. 109 – via Google Books.
^ abcSjökvist, P. (2024). Looted Libraries, Looted Books: The Swedish Case. Netherlands: Brill. p. 29. ISBN9789004715851.
^Szulakowska, U. (2019). Renaissance and Baroque Art and Culture in the Eastern Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1506-1696). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 97. ISBN9781527527430.
^Bajer, P. P. (2012). Scots in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 16th to 18th Centuries: The Formation and Disappearance of an Ethnic Group. Netherlands: Brill. p. 162. ISBN9789004210653.
^ abPoli, Roberto, ed. (2023). In Itinere: European Cities and the Birth of Modern Scientific Philosophy. Germany: Brill. p. 162. ISBN9789004457539.
^Stolarski, P. (2016). Friars on the Frontier: Catholic Renewal and the Dominican Order in Southeastern Poland, 1594–1648. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. p. 29. ISBN9781317132646.
^Patuelli, Roberto; Suzuki, Soushi, eds. (2021). A Broad View of Regional Science: Essays in Honor of Peter Nijkamp. Springer Nature Singapore. p. 58. ISBN9789813340985.
^Strenga, Gustavs; Nordin, Jonas; Sjökvist, Peter, eds. (2023). The Baltic Battle of Books: Formation and Relocation of European Libraries in the Confessional Age (c. 1500–c. 1650) and Their Afterlife. Netherlands: Brill. p. 304. ISBN9789004441217.
^Hoepel, I. (2019). Emblems and Impact Volume II: Von Zentrum und Peripherie der Emblematik. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 881. ISBN9781527527690.
^Tilse, M. (2011). Transnationalism in the Prussian East: From National Conflict to Synthesis, 1871-1914. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 46. ISBN9780230307506.
^Alvis, R. E. (2005). Religion and the rise of nationalism: a profile of an East-Central European city. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. p. 25. ISBN9780815630814.
^Berlitz Pocket Guide Poland (Travel Guide EBook). (2019). United Kingdom: Apa Publications. ISBN9781785732294.
.jpg)
