Secondary education in Złoczów in the years 1730–1918

Abstract

The first secondary school in Złoczów, the Piarist college, was founded in 1730 or 1731 by Jakub Sobieski, the son of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. It functioned for over half a century and was liquidated ten years after the first partition of Poland by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II Habsburg (in 1783). Later, for 90 years, Złoczów did not have a secondary school. Efforts to restore a secondary school in the city began in 1842. They lasted over 30 years. In 1873, Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to establish a lower secondary school in Złoczów with four classes. In 1878, the City Council obtained a provisional (for one year) consent from the Minister of Religious Affairs and Education to create a fifth grade. Over the next three years, she obtained provisional approvals to create sixth, seventh and eighth grades. As a consequence, for four years (1878/79–1881/82), the school was formally a lower gymnasium, and in fact a provisional upper secondary school. From the school year 1882/83, the school formally became a secondary school. During World War I, the school did not work for a year, because Złoczów was under Russian occupation. Later, it operated in extraordinary conditions in the frontline zone. Pupils of the oldest classes were drafted into the Austrian army or joined the Polish Legions. Among the outstanding graduates of the gymnasium, it is worth mentioning Stanisław Sobiński (1872–1926) – the director of the Real School in Tarnobrzeg and the 6th Junior Secondary School in Lviv, the first superintendent of the Lviv School District, murdered by Ukrainian nationalists. In the years 1873/74–1913/14, a total of 168 teaching staff were employed. Among many outstanding ones, Ludwik Kubala can be mentioned. He gained recognition as a scientist and popularizer of history.