Nicolaus Copernicus Monument, Kraków

The Jagiellonian University (Polish: Uniwersytet Jagielloński (UJ)) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in continuous operation in the world. It is often regarded as Poland's most prestigious academic institution. The university has been viewed as a guardian of Polish culture, particularly for continuing operations during the partitions of Poland and the two World Wars, as well as a significant contributor to the intellectual heritage of Europe.The campus of the Jagiellonian University is centrally located within the city of Kraków. The university consists of thirteen main faculties, in addition to three faculties composing the Collegium Medicum. It employs roughly 4,000 academics and provides education to more than 35,000 students who study in 166 fields. The main language of instruction is Polish, although around 30 degrees are offered in English and some in German. The university library is among the largest of its kind and houses a number of medieval manuscripts, including the landmark De Revolutionibus by alumnus Nicolaus Copernicus. In addition to Copernicus, the university's notable alumni include heads of state King John III Sobieski, Pope John Paul II, and Andrzej Duda, Polish prime ministers Beata Szydło and Józef Cyrankiewicz, renowned cultural figures Jan Kochanowski, Stanisław Lem, and Krzysztof Penderecki, and leading intellectuals and researchers such as Hugo Kołłątaj, Bronisław Malinowski, Carl Menger, Leo Sternbach, and Norman Davies. Four Nobel laureates have been affiliated with the university, all in literature: Ivo Andrić and Wisława Szymborska, who studied there, and Czesław Miłosz and Olga Tokarczuk, who taught there. Faculty and graduates of the university have been elected to the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society, the British Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and other honorary societies. The Jagiellonian University is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. The CWTS Leiden Ranking, which reviews the scientific performance of more than 1,200 global universities, has placed the university at #1 in Poland, #74 regionally, and #250 globally.

Faculty of Law and Administration is the oldest unit of the Jagiellonian University. In 1364, when the University was established, 8 out of 11 chairs were devoted to legal sciences. At the beginning only courses in Canon Law and Roman Law were available. At present, the faculty is recognised as the best law faculty in Poland with the best bar passage rates and one of the finest in Central Europe. In 1851 the first student scientific association in Poland was founded here (TBSP UJ).

The Collegium Novum (Latin: "New College") is the Neo-Gothic main building of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, originally built between the year 1363 and 1365 and after its destruction, rebuilt in between 1873-1887. Based on a design by architect Feliks Księżarski to match the oldest building of the University, it was opened for the 500th anniversary of the University's foundation. The Collegium Novum replaced a former academic boarding school called Jeruzalem, consumed by fire in the mid-19th century. The building contains lecture rooms including an impressive assembly hall (called Aula), Rector's, Deans', and other university authorities' offices as well as those of a number of prominent professors. It is the Jagiellonian University's administrative centre. Collegium Novum was opened on June 14, 1887, commencing several years of debate and construction. The decision regarding the allocation of subsidies was made in the Austro-Hungarian capital of Vienna, with the University's vital interests defended by Julian Dunajewski, the then Austrian Finance Minister. The work might not have begun at all had it not been for his commitment, as well as that of his brother Cardinal Albin Dunajewski. Already at the time of its grand opening, the assembly hall (Aula) of the new building was too small to accommodate all guests on all occasions, even though the number of students did not exceed 1200 with approximately one hundred professors. A debate arose whether it was necessary to invite professors' wives to grand ceremonies. Most academics, in keeping with the prevailing trend of the time, were against the inviting of women guests. In the University's archives there is a formal invitation reading: “Zoll requires no ticket and wishes the ceremony to be exclusively male.” In another statement, Edward Janczewski “expresses his opposition to the idea of admitting ladies to the ceremonies.” Until the end of First World War, a portrait of emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, painted by Kazimierz Pochwalski, hung in the Aula of the Collegium. On October 31, 1918 a group of University students tore it to pieces, manifesting their determination for the recreation of an independent Republic of Poland. However, a number of other paintings did survive, including portraits of the University's founding fathers Casimir the Great and Władysław Jagiełło dating back to the early 1860s, a picture of Queen Jadwiga painted in 1900 to celebrate her Jubilee, as well as the works of Jan Matejko, including his painting entitled Copernicus: Conversation with God. The chairs in the assembly hall were designed by Tadeusz Stryjeński. On the upper floor of the College there is a lecture hall named after Józef Szujski – now used by historians – with the commemorative plaque in remembrance of the events surrounding Nazi German action called Sonderaktion Krakau where 183 professors were arrested and later sent to camps in Sachsenhausen and Dachau. The plaque reads: "For the freedom of spirit and service to science and nation of Jagiellonian University professors deceitfully and forcefully taken away from this hall and imprisoned by the Nazi occupant on November 6, 1939." The restoration of the Neo-Gothic architectural structure took place at the end of the 20th century. It was faced with a number of challenges, notably the task of reviving the original form of the building while simultaneously improving its functionality as an educational facility. The restoration was carried out on its façade in 1994 along with the modernization of the assembly hall, which was completed in 1999. The collaboration of specialists from various disciplines allowed for both restoration and functional needs of the Collegium to be met successfully.

The Collegium Witkowski (Witkowski College), in Kraków, Poland, is a Jagiellonian University building erected in 1908–11. It stands at ulica Gołębia (Dove Street) 13 and was named for physicist and Jagiellonian University rector August Witkowski. The building's style mixes elements of Gothic-revival, Romanesque-revival and Art Nouveau architecture. Originally used by the physics department, it now serves the history department.

Jagiellonian University Medical College is the oldest medical school in Poland. The Jagiellonian University's Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy are acclaimed as one of the largest medical academies in Poland. The school was established by King Casimir III of Poland in 1364.

The Collegium Maius (Latin for "Great College") located in Kraków Old Town, Poland, is the Jagiellonian University's oldest building, dating back to the 14th century. It stands at the corner of ulica Jagiellońska (Jagiellon Street) and ulica Świętej Anny (St. Anne Street) near the Main Square of the historic city centre. Collegium Maius is the location of the Jagiellonian University Museum (Polish: Muzeum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego), a registered museum established on the initiative of Prof. Karol Estreicher after meticulous restorations which lasted from 1949 through 1964, bringing the edifice back to its original look from before 1840.

AST National Academy of Theatre Arts (Polish: Akademia Sztuk Teatralnych w Krakowie, often shortened to AST), is a drama school based in Kraków and Wrocław, Poland. It was founded in 1946 by actor Juliusz Osterwa, who took the initial steps leading to the establishment of the Academy through the amalgamation of three local studios; Stary Teatr, the Słowacki Theatre, and Iwo Gall's Dramatic Studio.

The Church of St. Anne (Polish: Kolegiata św. Anny) is a Roman Catholic church located at 13 św. Anny Street in the UNESCO-protected historic centre of Kraków, Poland. It is one of the leading examples of Polish Baroque architecture designed by Tylman van Gameren, however, the church's history dates back to 14th century.

Capella Cracoviensis is a professional music ensemble and mixed symphonic choir based in Kraków, Poland. It was formed in 1970 by composer and music conductor Stanisław Gałoński (b. 1936), its first director and general manager. Capella Cracoviensis specializes in early music, Renaissance polyphonies, Polish Baroque, and classical chamber music played on period instruments, as well as oratorios, and operatic scores including works of Mozart. The home base for the Orchestra is the historic Krakow Philharmonic Hall located at Zwierzyniecka street. Regular performances in many world-renowned venues have confirmed its status as one of the Poland's most outstanding period instrument ensembles.

The Kraków Philharmonic (Polish: Filharmonia Krakowska) is the primary concert hall in Kraków, Poland. It is one of the largest auditoriums in the city. It consists of the main hall for orchestral performances with 693 seats, and two smaller venues, the Golden Hall and the Blue Hall, for chamber music concerts.

The Pontifical University of John Paul II (Polish: Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie) is an academic institution located in Kraków, Poland, that offers graduate degrees in theology, philosophy, and church history. It derived from the theology faculty of Jagiellonian University established in 1397. The theology faculty was expelled from the university by Communist authorities in 1954. Remaining under the supervision of the Vatican, the faculty received the honorific title of "Pontifical" in 1974 and was established as an Academy of Theology by Pope John Paul II in 1981 before becoming the Pontifical University of John Paul II in 2009.

The Piwnica pod Baranami (English: The Basement, or the Cellar under the Rams) is a Polish literary cabaret located in Kraków, Poland. For over thirty years, in the People's Republic of Poland, Piwnica pod Baranami served as the most renowned political cabaret in the country, until the end of (and beyond) the communist era. Created by Piotr Skrzynecki in 1956, the cabaret continues its activities, contrary to rumours that it has been closed after the death of its founder in 1997. It resides at its original location in the medieval Old Town district, at the Main Market Square (next to Vis-á-vis café). At first, the facility was a meeting place for Kraków students. It was a club for creative youth (Klub Młodzieży Twórczej), part of the Old Town Community Centre in the Palace under the Rams (Pałac Pod Baranami). The stage was formed by young artists of many different genres: writers, musicians, visual artists and actors, as well as their friends and faithful audiences. After nearly fifty years Piwnica became a legend of local eccentricity, and the style of the Piwnica cabaret entered the colloquial language as the "underground (piwnica) style" of performance. An account of the cabaret performance at Piwnica is given in a 2010 book A Long, Long Time Ago & Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka.Piwnica's influence has reached beyond the art; it has been described thus: "It was much more than a cabaret. It was a breath of freedom and of ironic distance to the reality which surrounded us."