Collegium Maius: magic at the university

In front of you is the Collegium Maius, the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University. The university was founded by Casimir the Great in 1364 and refounded in 1400 by King Władysław Jagiełło with Queen Jadwiga's bequest; that year he bought the house that became this college. After a fire in 1492, the buildings were joined around the arcaded courtyard you see now.

1Copernicus and the stars

Nicolaus Copernicus studied here from 1491 to 1495. Kraków was then famous for astronomy and astrology, two subjects not yet clearly told apart. And from that fame grew another, more unsettling one.

2Faust in Kraków

In 1562, Johannes Manlius published notes attributed to the reformer Melanchthon. They claim that Doctor Faust, the German magician who would inspire Marlowe and Goethe, learned magic in Kraków, 'where it used to be taught publicly'. Historians treat this with caution: the text is already full of legendary elements.

3Pan Twardowski

Kraków also has a Faust of its own. According to tradition, the nobleman Twardowski sold his soul to the devil for knowledge and power, with one clause: he could only be taken in Rome, where he had no intention of going. The devil caught him at an inn called 'Rome'; Twardowski sang a hymn to the Virgin and the demon let go of him in mid-flight, leaving him on the Moon, where he is said to live still. Adam Mickiewicz made the story popular in his ballad 'Pani Twardowska'.

Copernicus studied the sky with instruments; Twardowski, the legend says, ended up living in it.

4What to look for

• The Gothic arcades of the courtyard, with their carved columns.
• The well in the middle of the courtyard.
• The figure clock by the doorway, with characters from the university's history.