The Franz (Francis) I University of Lviv
was reorganized as the Jan Kazimierz University in 1918, after the
Polish-Ukrainian war and the battles for Lviv. During the period, the
University was one of the largest and most significant scientific and cultural
centers of interwar Poland. It was renamed after the beginning of the
Soviet occupation in 1939 into Ivan
Franko State University.
The University,
founded in 1784 by Joseph II on the basis of the abolished Jesuit academy, was
to become the main source of professional officials for the capital of the
Galician province. Stress was laid not on research, but chiefly on the training
of managers. After numerous changes, in particular, the demotion of the
institution status to that of a lyceum, in 1817 the university was refounded by
Emperor Francis II. The institution existed in this condition till the end of
1918.