ANATOMICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF VIENNA, KRAKÓW, AND LVIV – A SHARED HISTORY AND PRESENT
Authors: Pidvalna Uliana , Schaukal Leo , Bauer Sophia , Gryglewski Ryszard W. , Weninger Wolfgang J. , Mateshuk-Vatseba Lesya 
Published: January 2025

2024 marks the 240th anniversary of the beginning of academic medical teaching in Lviv (Ukraine), which started with the foundation of the Josephine University by Joseph II in 1784. Additionally, 2024 marks the 130th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Medical Faculty of Lviv University in 1894. Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University is the successor to the medical teaching and tradition of Josephine University [1]. Becoming the focal point around which other departments began to be constructed and developed, the erection of the new Morphological Building (Anatomy-Physiological Institute) at Pekarska Street was a key element during and after the re-establishment of the Medical Faculty of Lviv University (Fig. 1). But next to these architectural changes the re-establishment of the medical faculty also facilitated further development of inter-university collaboration among the cities of Vienna, Kraków, which, like Lviv, were integral parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, these three cities are situated in different countries – Austria, Poland, and Ukraine – and maintain their commitment to international collaboration.
The process of re-establishing the Medical Faculty at Lviv University was tied to Professor Henryk Kadyi (1851–1912), who graduated from Franz Josef gymnasium in Lviv before attending the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (1870–1871) and the University in Vienna (1871–1875) [2]. Later, he was active as a researcher and university teacher in Kraków, Prague, and Lviv, where he finally became both dean and university rector (1898–1899). In 2023, we launched an international project between Austria, Poland and Ukraine, which overall delves into the establishment of pan-Habsburg anatomical networks and anatomical knowledge shared in such a network based on the case example of Henryk Kadyi, who was deeply involved in medical academic life in Lviv and beyond.
In our project, we aim to shape a new understanding of how scientific, especially anatomical networking, historically operated and how it affected research, teaching, architectural designs and the medical system in the current-day countries of Ukraine, Poland and Austria before this connection was largely lost with the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire (1918). Also, our project aims to facilitate future and continuous collaboration between Lviv, Kraków and Vienna.
Our international research shows that the history of the Anatomical Department in Lviv has been a part of a Pan-European, and more specifically, Pan-Habsburg history of scientific networks and knowledge circulation. Our preliminary results are that, first, academic mobility in the Habsburg Empire did influence the re-establishment of the Medical Faculty at the University of Lviv [3].
Second, our archive research in the Lviv Regional State Archive (DALO), the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv (TsDIAL), the Austrian State Archive (ÖStA) and National Archives in Kraków (ANK) supports the hypothesis of long-lasting and close international contacts between Lviv and other European cities, such as Leipzig, Kraków, Vienna, and Prague. Third, European academic networks shaped university life in teaching, research, publication activities, social connections, institutional organization, and architectural design. The historical analysis of building plans, archival sources, museum objects, contemporary engravings, photographs and other visual sources from Vienna, Kraków and Lviv shows many shared objects and practices, similar architectural (localities) and organizational structures in anatomy teaching.
This year’s anniversaries highlight the significance of international collaborations for medical education and innovation. Our project, inspired by the example of Professor Henryk Kadyi, underscores the importance of historical academic networks and their role in shaping the academic landscape. By fostering connections between Lviv, Vienna, Kraków, and beyond, we can revitalize shared medical traditions and hope to enhance future educational and research endeavors [4]. The 240th anniversary of the initiation of academic medical education and the 130th anniversary of the restoration of the Medical Faculty in Lviv remind us of the need to continue nurturing these collaborations for a richer, more integrated medical landscape in Ukraine and Europe.