Education sources (primary schools, gimnazja, universities)

School and university records can reveal the pupil’s date and place of birth, religion, language spoken at home, parents’ occupation, place of residence, and academic results. They survive both in state archives and at individual schools and universities, including the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the University of Lviv.

Gimnazja — the elite classical secondary schools that educated pupils from about ages 10 to 18 — left particularly rich records. Gimnazjum class catalogues and matura (matriculation exam) protocols contain the pupil’s full personal data, grades from every year, and details about the parents. Famous Galician gimnazja (St. Anne’s and the Bartłomiej Nowodworski Gimnazjum in Krakow, the Jan Sobieski Gimnazjum in Lviv) hold records reaching back to the 18th century.

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