It presents a wealth of often unique, academic, historical, and museum collections in Poland, including those held in Krakow’s academies. Among them are those devoted to the heritage of medicine. In addition to the collections that have been present in the historical landscape of our city for years and thus became a recognizable element of it, such as the Pharmacy Museum of the Jagiellonian University Medical College, a wider audience was presented with collections that are less known and often difficult to access to visitors due to their specificity. Therefore, the reader gets an opportunity, sometimes for the first time, to peek into the past of medical science preserved by the people devoted to the tradition and the heritage of the Jagiellonian University. On the pages of Treasure Houses of Polish Academic Heritage, they will find separate historical collections treasured in the Department of Pharmacognosy, the Institute of Dentistry, the Department of Anatomy, the Museum of the History of Medicine, i.e. the Museum of the Faculty of Medicine, the Parlour of the History of Nursing, and the Department of Pathomorphology. And it still is not a complete picture. Almost each of the departments and clinics of the Medical College stores valuable historical objects. An unusual collection of exhibits relating to the history of forensics is kept at the Department of Forensic Medicine. Rich library collections are housed by the Department of Physiology and the First Chair of Surgery. A set of wax models of characteristic skin lesions exhibited in the Department of Dermatology or Krakow’s collection devoted to the history of radiology are also closely related to the history of academic medicine in the Wesoła district, which is crossed by Via Medicorum – ul. Kopernika.

Recent years have brought an ever deeper reflection on the heritage left by nations, groups of people, individuals, and institutions – including universities. The awareness of the richness and multifaceted nature of tangible and intangible heritage results in a greater care of its preservation for future generations. The dynamic changes in the reality in which we live also present us with new challenges.

The sale of more than 9 hectares of the University Hospital’s property with its historic buildings, or the continuing Covid-19 pandemic encourage reconsideration of the promotion and education strategies when the treasures of the university’s heritage are concerned.

One of the proposals, currently discussed by the Rector’s Committee for Heritage of the Jagiellonian University and the Jagiellonian University Medical College, is the idea of “a cultural route” – a circuit of the academic heritage. Developed by the Department of History of Medicine at the Jagiellonian University Medical College, for which the name of “Gościniec Akademicki” (Academic Highroad) has been adopted, is still in the project phase. This circuit is marked by an axis that runs along the line from the Jagiellonian Library to the Botanical Garden of the Jagiellonian University, and defines the main route for future visitors, albeit not the only one. Therefore, the constantly developed project of the “Gościniec Akademicki” does not exclude the possibility of visiting places related to the history of the University but situated outside the main axis of the circuit. After all, the approach in which tourists independently (with the help of digital applications) plan their sightseeing is common practice nowadays. Appropriate virtual tools (such as a website with a map and a planner) would allow parties to plan their walks on their own, per their interests, as well as physical and perceptual abilities. Designing and constructing such a tool, with a user-friendly and visually attractive interface, will certainly help to promote the content that is to fill the planned route.

Of course, it is necessary to evaluate an appropriate guide according to which the objects of the circuit will be selected. We have locations containing unique, historical collections, places associated with great scientists, objects coming from generous donations, buildings erected to improve the well-being of students and scientists, and finally sights  interesting for their architectural decor and historical content associated with them. This diversity of perspectives shows us just how closely the history of the University intertwines with that of Krakow, Poland, world, and the Polish science. It makes us aware of the sheer volume of stories about many aspects of life that still remain unknown.

It is equally important to design an appropriately expressive and coherent visual identification. Both a newcomer and the city dweller should be able to recognize the objects belonging to the “Gościniec Akademicki” at a canter. Nowadays, the augmented reality (AR) mechanics triggered by specific markers or locations, for example, provide unusual opportunities of telling everyone about the history of a given facility without them even needing to enter it. Thanks to these implements, everyone, using only their smartphones, has the opportunity to listen to or watch presentations, photos, or videos related to the chosen object.

For the Jagiellonian University Medical College, the aforementioned complex of clinics and departments at ul. Kopernika – Krakow’s Via Medicorum, is in itself a unique place, a testimony to the history of medicine, University, and the city itself.

Already in 1788, the General Hospital of St. Lazarus was established in the former monastery (now Kopernika 19), which is strictly connected with the development of the university clinics. In 1827, a new university clinic location was opened in the former Masonic Lodge (Kopernika 7). For many years this place was associated with such great personalities as Maciej Józef Brodowicz, Józef Dietl, Ludwik Bierkowski, and Jan Mikulicz-Radecki. Leon Marchlewski conducted his world-famous research on chlorophyll in the Department of Biochemistry at the same address. The Department of Embryology, also located at No. 7, proudly commemorates Emil Godlewski Jr, who not only contributed with his scientific work, but also saved the health of Poles after World War I by conducting one of the largest vaccination campaigns in the history of Poland.

Across the street, in the Theatrum Anatomicum (Kopernika 12), Ludwik Teichmann conducted his world-famous research on the subject of the exact structure of the lymphatic system, and Kazimierz Kostanecki set one of the most influential scientific schools in train. The building of the Clinic of Internal Diseases (Kopernika 15) is associated with such outstanding scientists as Walery Jaworski – a pioneer of Polish gastrology, or Tadeusz Tempka – the founder of Polish haematology. Julian Aleksandrowicz, a student of Tempka, a haematologist, humanist, and philosopher of medicine, conducted his research in the neighbouring building at No. 17.

I Clinic of Surgery, or “White Surgery” (Kopernika 40) was built thanks to the efforts of Ludwik Rydygier, whose name is present in the world’s history of gastrointestinal surgery. Maksymilian Rutkowski, who was a  successor of Rydygier’s, was one of the pioneers of bladder plastic surgery, and an excellent specialist in military medicine active in the Polish Legions during World War I.

II Surgery Clinic – “Red Surgery” – Kopernika 21, was built on the initiative of Alfred Obaliński, the creator of the Krakow’s Emergency Medical Service (second in Europe after Vienna) and a pioneer of the medical radiology in Poland. Jan Glatzel, famous in Europe for his outstanding surgical technique, also worked there.

The building of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department (Kopernika 23), erected thanks to the efforts of Aleksander Rosner in the interwar period, is a testament to the Polish health care during the Second Polish Republic (the cornerstone for its construction was laid by Marshal Józef Piłsudski). Similar testimony is given by the modernist building of the Institute of Nursing and Obstetrics (Kopernika 25). Finally, the building of the Institute of Neurology (Botaniczna 3), erected by Jan Piltz, the “father” of Polish neurology, crowns the medical part of ul. Kopernika.

Gościniec Akademicki is certainly an opportunity for the entire University (including the Jagiellonian University Medical College) to present the treasures of its heritage. We sincerely hope that it will be fully exploited to raise the awareness of the achievements of Polish science and its role in the world, and strengthen the University’s ties with Krakow.