Warsaw - Education

Education

Warsaw holds some of the finest institutions of higher education in Poland. It is home to four major universities and over 62 smaller schools of higher education. The overall number of students of all grades of education in Warsaw is almost 500,000 (29.2% of the city population; 2002). The number of university students is over 280,000. Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities.

The University of Warsaw was established in 1816, when the partitions of Poland separated Warsaw from the oldest and most influential Polish academic center, in Kraków. Warsaw University of Technology is the second academic school of technology in the country, and one of the largest in Central Europe, employing 2,000 professors. Other institutions for higher education include the Medical University of Warsaw, the largest medical school in Poland and one of the most prestigious, the National Defence University, highest military academic institution in Poland, the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe, the Warsaw School of Economics, the oldest and most renowned economic university in the country, and the Warsaw University of Life Sciences the largest agricultural university founded in 1818.

Warsaw has numerous libraries, many of which contain vast collections of historic documents. The most important library in terms of historic document collections include the National Library of Poland. Library holds 8.2 million volumes in its collection. Formed in 1928 sees itself as a successor to the Załuski Library, the biggest in Poland and one of the first and biggest libraries in the world.

Another important library – the University Library, founded in 1816, is home to over two million items. The building was designed by architects Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski and opened on 15 December 1999. It is surrounded by green. The University Library garden, designed by Irena Bajerska, was opened on 12 June 2002. It is one of the largest and most beautiful roof gardens in Europe with an area of more than 10,000 m2 (107,639.10 sq ft), and plants covering 5,111 m2 (55,014.35 sq ft). As the university garden it is open to the public every day.