The history of Lviv University dates back to the 17th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, church brotherhoods were the centres of cultural life in Ukrainian lands. Supported by the burghers and clergy, they promoted the spread of humanist ideas and the development of science and education. The earliest brotherhood in Ukraine was the Dormition Stauropegian Brotherhood in Lviv, which became a prominent Ukrainian cultural centre. Beginning in 1586, a brotherhood school operated in Lviv, serving as a secondary educational institution. Students studied Church Slavonic, Greek, Latin, and Polish, along with mathematics, grammar, rhetoric, astronomy, philosophy, and other disciplines. The members of the Lviv Brotherhood even planned to transform their ‘himnasion’ (as they called this school) into a higher educational institution. Such prominent figures of Ukrainian culture of the late 16th and first half of the 17th centuries as Lavrentiy Zyzaniy (Kukil) and his brother Stepan, Kyrylo Stavrovets, Ivan Boretskyi, and others worked and completed their education at the Lviv Brotherhood School.
Until the mid-17th century, there were no higher education institutions in Ukraine. Noble Poland resisted the creation of a higher school here, as it could become a dangerous political and cultural centre. Ukrainian youth were forced to obtain higher education in Krakow and other European universities.
Under the articles of the Treaty of Hadiach (1658) between Ukraine and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Polish government promised to open two higher education institutions in Ukraine in the future: one in Kyiv and another in any suitable location. The academies were promised the same rights as those granted to the University of Krakow. Influential circles in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not rule out the possibility that, under the pressure of certain political circumstances, Ukraine could establish its national universities. Meanwhile, the Jesuit Order placed special hopes on its centre in Lviv in the matter of defending Catholicism in Ukraine. The Jesuits appeared in Lviv at the end of the 16th century, and in 1608, they opened their secondary school-college there.
By the middle of the 17th century, this school had fallen into decline, but was nevertheless saved from destruction by the Jesuits, since it was under the patronage and support of Polish magnates. The Jesuits realised the possibility of creating a university based on the Lviv Brotherhood School, and therefore constantly sought to transform their school into an academy. After repeated requests, King Jan II Kazimierz on January 20, 1661, signed a diploma granting the Jesuit college in Lviv “the dignity of an academy and the title of a university” with the right to teach all university disciplines of that time and to confer the degrees of bachelor, licentiate, master, and doctor. However, immediately after the signing of the diploma, the establishment of the academy was met with strong opposition from the University of Krakow and certain influential figures in the state who supported it. Despite the obstacles, Lviv University conducted its studies according to the model of other European academies. Later, in 1758, Polish King Augustus III approved the diploma of January 20, 1661, issued by Jan II Kazimierz. From its founding until 1773, Lviv University was completely under the control of the Jesuit Order and was subordinate to the Jesuit General in Rome. The university was headed by a rector. The university premises were located near Krakivska Street in the centre of Lviv. The educational institution built and purchased new premises, had its own library, and the largest printing house in Lviv.
The university consisted of two departments (faculties) – philosophical and theological. The role of a secondary educational institution at Lviv University was performed by the Collegium(a pre-university school), which served as a preparatory stage for those wishing to continue their studies.
Historical records show that in 1667, about 500 students studied at the philosophical and theological faculties, and eight teachers provided the educational process. In the mid-18th century, the number of students increased to 700, and the number of teachers to 15-17. Poles comprised 75% of the students, with the remainder being Ukrainians and representatives of other ethnic groups.
The educational process at Lviv University was conducted according to the Jesuit school program, developed at the end of the 16th century; significant changes to this program began to be introduced only in the mid-18th century. In the Faculty of Philosophy, students mainly studied Aristotle’s philosophical system, which was a combination of logic, physics, and metaphysics. Physics also included elements of mathematics, astronomy, biology, and meteorology, while metaphysics included issues of psychology and ethics. In addition, they studied history, geography, Greek, and other subjects. Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy lasted two to three years. After graduation, students could pursue theological education. Studies at the Faculty of Theology lasted four years. The courses included church history, the Old and New Testaments, dogmatic and moral theology, canon law, casuistry, and ancient Hebrew. All university disciplines were taught by professors.
In the second half of the eighteenth century, due to the development of scientific knowledge, certain changes occurred in the educational process of the university. In 1744, the mathematics department was opened, headed by F. Grodzicki, who is an author of a textbook on architecture and mathematics. The Mathematical Physics laboratory and the University Astronomical Observatory were opened. Polish, French, German, geography and history were taught as separate subjects. Well-known scientists worked here: historian K. Niesiecki, mathematicians F. Grodzicki and T.Siekierzyński, writer G.Piramowicz, public figure, poet, writer and philosopher I. Krasicki. Such famous people as I. Giesel, M.Slotvynskyi, Ya. Bohomolovskyi and many others were university graduates.
After the dissolution of the Jesuit Order in 1773, Lviv University was shut down. However, a bunch of departments from the Jesuit Academy soon became the foundation for the Emperor Joseph University in Lviv.
In 1772, Halychyna became part of the Austrian Empire. In order to centralise and germanise the multinational state, the government of Emperor Joseph II paid great attention to education, including higher education. There were intentions to establish a university in Lviv. Replacement of the teaching positions at the departments was to be done through competition with admission of candidates regardless of their religious beliefs or nationality.
The university was given the premises of the former Trinitarian Order on Krakivska Street. A governmental resolution dated June 17, 1784, determined the teaching staff and budget of the university. In October of the same year, a diploma and instructions for the university administration were issued. The diploma stated that Lviv University was to be composed of four faculties: philosophy, law, medicine, and theology. The grand opening of the university took place on November 16, 1784.
In the period between 1805 and 1817, a school functioned on the premises of Lviv University. This was due to the reform of higher education in the Austrian state. The analysis shows that most subjects continued to be taught in the university scope. The same faculties continued their work.
The highest governing body of the university was the Senate (consistory). It consisted of a rector, deans and seniors (the oldest and the most experienced professors). The Senate resolved the major issues that concerned the overall management of the university. All other cases were resolved by deans who also worked as directors of faculties. It should be noted that the university had certain autonomy.
The high school, established in 1784, was responsible for preparing students for entering the university. Training was conducted in German and Latin and lasted for 5 years. In the first three years, all students used the Faculty of Philosophy program in their studies. After graduating from the Faculty of Philosophy, students either continued their studies at the same faculty in order to deepen their knowledge on a specific subject or chose one of the higher faculties – law, medicine or theology, where training lasted for four years. Teaching was conducted in Latin, Polish and German. In 1825, the Department of the Polish language and literature was opened.
In 1787, Studium Ruthenum functioned at the Theological Faculty. It was a two-year course conducted in Ukrainian. It continued its work until 1806. Such prominent figures of the Ukrainian nation as Markiyan Shashkevych, Yakiv Holovatskyi, and Yuriy Venelin (Hutsa) are related to Lviv University in the first decades of the 19th century.
Physics at Lviv University in the second half of the eighteenth to early nineteenth century was represented by professors F. Güssman, I. Martinovics, A. Hiltenbrand, Ivan Zemanchyk, A. Gloisner, A. Kunzek and A. Zawadzki, but few of them had scientific achievements in the field of physical science. In particular, Prof. I. Martinovics (1755-1795) wrote a two-volume textbook on experimental physics. A renowned scientist of the 1780s, F. Güssman (1741-1806), published in Vienna a two-volume description of the age of the earth in terms of physics. Ivan Zemanchyk did much to increase the amount of equipment available at the faculty. Prof. A.Kunzek (1795-1865), who was interested in physics in addition to astronomy and even taught mathematics and classical philology, wrote scientific papers and seven books (e.g, “The Doctrine of Light”, “Popular Astronomy,” “Popular Science of Meteorology” etc.).
The first professor of chemistry and botany at Lviv University was Burkhard Swibert Schivereck (1742–1807). His main achievements include studies on mineral water deposits in Subcarpathia and establishing the Botanical Garden.
One of the first professional mathematicians at the University was F. Kodesch (1761-1831), who wrote a textbook on mathematics. A manual, “Elements of Pure Mechanics”, brought glory to the outstanding Austrian mathematician L. Schulz von Straßnitzki(1803-1852), who taught at the university from 1834 to 1838. The subject of natural history was taught at the University by Prof. B. Hacquet (1740-1815). He was a pioneer in the field of geology in Halychyna.
In the field of philosophy, the name of Petro Lodiy (1764-1829) should be mentioned. He authored the textbooks “Metaphysics” and “Logical Instructions.” A series of works on philosophy was also written by the Czech I. Hanuš (1812–1869). L. Zehnmark (1753-1814) was the first professor of history at the university. He was also a specialist in auxiliary historical disciplines and published a manual on this subject. G. Uhlich (1743-1794) was the first professor of auxiliary historical disciplines. He founded a reading hall in Lviv, wrote a textbook on diplomacy and numismatics, and was the author of a number of works on history. The professor of general history and history of Austria, J. Mauss (1778-1856), was very popular among students.
Classical philology in 1784 was taught by V. Hann (1763-1816), who, in addition to linguistics, was interested in the problems of aesthetics and published a two-volume collection of his poems. He also wrote several works on the history of literature. Among linguists, professors I. Pollak (1785-1825) and Leopold Umlauf (1757 – 1807) also deserve attention.
In the 1820s-30s, research in local history and humanities revived. A student of the University I.Mohylnytskyi prepared the first Ukrainian grammar published in Halychyna. It came out in 1829. Its preface on the Ruthenian Language contained a brief overview of the history of Ukraine. It also determined the Ukrainian language as independent among East Slavic languages.
Professor of Lviv National University I.Lavrivskyi compiled a six-volume Ukrainian-Polish-German dictionary and translated “The Tale of Bygone Years” into Polish. A significant contribution to the study of local history was made by Professor M.Hrynevetskyi. He collected incunabula and other ancient monuments.
The law science of the time was based on the so-called historical school of law. Prof. J. Winiwarter was an outstanding researcher in the field of civil law. He worked in Lviv from 1806 to 1827 and published several scientific papers.