Chronicles of Polytechnic: on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the name «Lviv Polytechnic»

HUEC Department, Lviv Polytechnic
фото Політехніки з архіву

The Department of History, Museum Studies and Cultural Heritage is launching a new section «Chronicles of Polytechnic», where it will not only recall known and important facts from the history of the University, but also reveal little-known or forgotten pages of Polytechnic history.

On the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the name «Lviv Polytechnic»

June is a special month for one of the oldest technical universities in Europe – Lviv Polytechnic. It was June when several particularly important events for Lviv Polytechnic National University took place.

On June 19, 1894, the Galician Sejm adopted the «Principles of Organization» of the Tsisar-Royal Polytechnic School in Lviv, on the basis of which in 1897 the Ministry of Religion and Education of Austria-Hungary granted the university its first organizational charter. This charter outlined the legal framework for the university and normalized its organizational structure, which was used with minor changes until 1921. The charter, in particular, confirmed the structure of the university, which consisted of four faculties: land and water engineering, construction, technical chemistry and mechanical engineering.

In fact, in June 1915, after the return of Austrian troops to Lviv, despite the war and the transformation of the building of the Tsisar-Royal Polytechnic School in Lviv into a military hospital, the university resumed training.

On June 28, 1921, the new charter of the university was approved and adopted at the general meeting of professors. In particular, a new name for the university – Lviv Polytechnic was introduced. On its basis, the following faculties operated at Lviv Polytechnic:

  • I Faculty of Engineering with Departments: road, water and measuring (training lasted 4.5 years);
  • II Faculty of Architecture with Departments: art and construction (training lasted 4 years);
  • III Faculty of Mechanics with Departments: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mining and oil (training lasted 4 years);
  • IV Faculty of Chemistry with Departments: laboratory chemists and factory chemists (training lasted 4 years);
  • V Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry with Departments: Agriculture and Forestry (training lasted 4 years);
  • VI General Faculty with three groups (research lasted 4 years).

Finally, in June 1993, Lviv Polytechnic Institute received the highest – the fourth – level of accreditation, the status of a university and the name Lviv Polytechnic State University.

According to the research of the history of Lviv Polytechnic National University prepared by Andrii Pavlyshyn

Проєкт статуту 1894 р. підготований групою професорів Львівської технічної академії (Фото: Шишка О.В., Войтович І.О., Белявська Г.К. Національному університету «Львівська політехніка» 170 років 1844–2014).