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 Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus, known for his epoch masterpiece De Revolutionibus Orbium Celestium, which included his revolutionary astronomic theory, studied in Krakow – and it's possible that some of his family lived here, too. Many places in Krakow are devoted or linked to the famous astronomer, and Cracow preserves several of Copernicus's belongings.

The Life of Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19^th 1473 in Torun, in a still existing house on a street now bearing his name. Copernicus's family wanted him to become a canon, and that's why they decided to send him to Krakow to study at the famous Krakow Academy (now the Jagiellonian University). After four years in the Academy, Copernicus went on to study at Europe's oldest and most prestigious universities, in Bologna and Padua, Italy. During these stays he made observations that later enabled him to work on his theory. In the 1510s he came back to Poland to take the post of the Bishop of Warmia in Frombork (north-west Poland), where he lived for the rest of his life. Copernicus died in 1543, and was buried in Frombork. His grave was recently discovered by archaeologists, and plans are being made to reproduce the looks of Copernicus's face based on his skull.

Copernicus's Discoveries

It is wrong to see Copernicus solely as an astronomer – in fact, he was also an excellent physician, a specialist in canon and civil law, a military leader (even as Frombork's bishop, he defended the city against a siege of the Teutonic Knights) and an economist. His most known discovery is certainly the heliocentric theory, but he was also the original author of what is now known as the Gresham's Law (in Poland mostly called the Copernicus's Law), claiming that bad coinage drives good coinage out of circulation.

Copernicus's Nationality

Copernicus was most probably born from a Polish father and a German mother. At the time of his birth Torun was a city under Teutonic rule. Some doubt that Copernicus even spoke Polish – and when signing in to the University, he presented himself as “Nicolaus, son of Nicolaus from Torun”, without stating his nationality clearly. Yet, most Poles (and some Germans) think of Copernicus as “their own”, and the Polish even have a nursery rhyme that goes “Wstrzymal Slonce, ruszyl Ziemie, polskie go wydalo plemie” (“He made the Sun stop and the Earth move, and was of Polish origin”).

Places in Krakow linked to Copernicus

There's a monument of Copernicus in the Planty Park, just a step away from the Jagiellonian University's Collegium Novum. The museum in another university building, the Collegium Maius, contains the astronomer's astrolabe as well as other personal belongings. A painting of Copernicus by Jan Matejko can also be found in Krakow.