On the Aula Leopoldina in the context of false claims – Why the portrait of Frederick II could never replace the White Eagle
The fundamental reason why the White Eagle could not have been replaced by a portrait of the King of Prussia, Frederick II, lies in the fact that these two representations were never located in the same place.
The White Eagle, in various forms, has been displayed since the 1950s on the western wall of the Aula, beneath the statue of Emperor Leopold I, the university’s founder. The portrait of Frederick II is one of eight portraits hanging above the professors’ benches on the northern and southern sides of the Aula. These portrayals depict clergy, rulers, and high-ranking officials significant to the history of the Jesuits and their university in Wrocław.
The portrait of Frederick II, currently located on the northern pillar between the windows, replaced around 1773 a portrait of Emperor Rudolf II Habsburg, under whose reign the Jesuits began their activity in Wrocław. This change was intended to express the gratitude of the Wrocław Jesuits towards the King of Prussia, who permitted the continuation of the university’s activities despite the suppression of the Society of Jesus by Pope Clement XIV. Frederick II’s policies towards Silesia were marked by Enlightenment ideals. He supported the Polish minority in Lower Silesia (around 10 per cent of the population, significantly more on the right bank of the Oder) in various ways – primarily by issuing all official decrees also in the Polish language (in clear, well-crafted Polish). The Habsburg authorities did not do this; indeed, they pursued a consistent policy of Germanisation of the Silesian Catholic Church in the spirit of pietas austriaca.
The most recent comprehensive renovation of the Aula Leopoldina (completed in 2022) aimed to restore its original 18th-century appearance. Following the renovation, it is one of two historic interiors (alongside the Oratorium Marianum) open to visitors through the Museum of the University of Wrocław. The Aula also serves as a venue for official ceremonies, cultural events, and occasional lectures, organised both by the University of Wrocław and external entities. After the renovation, the Aula does not serve any official or educational functions that would necessitate the presence of a national emblem.
The identity of the place is clearly expressed by the personification of Silesia above the music gallery, as well as by the coat of arms of Count Johann Anton von Schaffgotsch placed beneath the balustrade of the gallery, superimposed on the heraldic shield of the Piasts of Legnica-Brzeg. The Count was the grandson of Barbara Agnieszka, a Silesian princess of the Piast dynasty. This heraldic gesture symbolised the Schaffgotsch family’s claim to the ideological and political heritage of the Piasts.
We also encourage you to read the article by prof. Jan Harasimowicz, Director of the Museum of the University of Wrocław, published in the first issue of the journal Leopoldiana Wratislaviensia in 2023. The journal was founded by staff of the University of Wrocław, the Ossoliński National Institute, and the Honorary Consul of Austria in Wrocław. Its goal is to make accessible to a wider audience the research findings of art historians, literary scholars, cultural studies experts, historians, and musicologists concerning the history of Polish-Austrian and Silesian-Austrian relations, economic ties, and the Habsburg past of Silesia and Galicia.
Here are some extensive excerpts from Professor Harasimowicz’s article titled “The Material and Immaterial Heritage of the Leopoldine Academy”:
“The 320th anniversary of the Leopoldine Academy, which took place last year, did not attract as much public or media attention as the round 300th anniversary of the university’s founding in 2002. The grand celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the State University in Wrocław (Universitas Litterarum Wratislaviense) in 2011 brought an end to the long-standing debates on whether the Polish University of Wrocław is the rightful successor of both the original – Austrian – alma mater and the second, Prussian-founded one of 1811. Today, no one questions the clear fact that the historical institutional continuity of the University of Wrocław is most firmly represented by the Baroque complex located at University Square, comprising the University Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, the main building with the Aula Leopoldina, the Oratorium Marianum and the Mathematical Tower, as well as the former St Joseph’s Convictus. The main building, known as the Collegium Maximum, plays a particularly important role. It was constructed partly on the site of the former imperial castle and partly on the so-called Sparrow Hill (Sperlingberg), which, until the early 18th century, housed the castle’s stables and coach houses.
The imperial ownership of Sparrow Hill was long disputed by the City Council, which delayed the construction of the university building. Only once the city’s interests were properly secured – including an agreement from the imperial court to provide a passage beneath the planned building to access the so-called Long Bridge, the main crossing over the Oder to the north – could construction begin. The foundation stone was laid in 1728. The west wing was completed in 1730, while the east wing and the Mathematical Tower were built between 1734 and 1737. The sculptural, stucco, and painted decoration of the interiors was carried out from 1732 to 1739, ceasing upon the entry of Frederick II’s Prussian troops into Silesia. The Collegium Maximum never attained its originally planned shape – only one of the three intended towers was built, giving the surviving structure its characteristic asymmetry.
(…)
The ideological programme of the university’s main building was closely tied to the historical function of the site – the former seat of the Silesian dukes, Kings of Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperors, which also hosted the Silesian provincial diet and housed the Royal Chamber, the administrative body for the monarch’s estates. The programme’s authors, likely from the Jesuit faculty, faced the challenging task of skilfully combining the academic theme – reflecting the building’s main function – with two political threads: the ‘monarchical’ one, glorifying the ruling house that had bestowed such a splendid seat of learning upon its Silesian subjects, and the ‘provincial’ one, presenting Silesia – in all its political and administrative diversity – as a loyal land, grateful for the favour shown it by the monarchy. This programme unfolds consistently from the entrance portal with a balcony adorned with personifications of the four Cardinal Virtues, through the vestibule with its vaulted ceiling decorated with the coats of arms of the Habsburg Monarchy and two central Silesian institutions – the Supreme Office and the Royal Chamber – and the double-flight Imperial Staircase, whose vault depicts allegories of all the Silesian duchies and free estates, culminating in the Aula Leopoldina on the first floor – the main ceremonial hall.
All these Silesian territories are linked via illusionistic vistas to the painted personification of Silesia enthroned on the wall of the Aula adjacent to the staircase.
The sovereign of Silesia is accompanied by Viadrus – the god of the Oder, symbolising ‘nature’, and Wratislavia – the personification of the provincial capital, symbolising ‘culture’, i.e., craftsmanship and commerce. In front of these allegories stands, on the music gallery balustrade, the bust of Count Johann Anton von Schaffgotsch – President of the Supreme Office and the Emperor’s Governor of Silesia. Beside him is a decorative cartouche with the Schaffgotsch family’s new coat of arms, granted by the Emperor in 1708, where the traditional family crest is superimposed on the heraldic shield of the Piasts of Legnica-Brzeg. This design, referencing Count Schaffgotsch’s paternal grandmother, the Brzeg princess Barbara Agnieszka, only became possible after the death of the last Piast princess, Karolina of Legnica-Brzeg, in December 1707. By prominently displaying this new family crest, Count Schaffgotsch presented himself as the rightful heir to the princely line of the Piasts – former sovereign rulers of the land.
On the opposite side of the Aula, distinguished by a high, concave-convex platform, stands the image of the university’s founder, Emperor Leopold I Habsburg, seated on a throne and flanked by allegorical figures personifying his motto: CONSILIO (By Counsel) ET (and) INDUSTRIA (By Diligence). To enhance rhetorical impact, the personification of Counsel is opposed by Discord (Discordia), and that of Diligence by Foolishness (Stultitia).
Since Emperor Leopold had already died by the time work on the Aula’s decoration began in 1730, and his successor Joseph I had also passed away, the image of the founder was complemented by standing statues of the two subsequent emperors – Joseph I and Charles VI. In this way, a pantheon of Habsburg benefactors to the university was formed, further enriched by a ceiling painting depicting the contributions of the Habsburg dynasty and their ancestors, the Babenbergs (notably Saint Leopold), to the Church and its Queen – the Virgin Mary. Between these two ‘political’ threads, the dominant ‘academic’ thread of the Aula’s programme unfolds, culminating in the central ceiling painting – an Allegory of Divine Wisdom, revealed to the world through the Evangelists and Church Fathers. The manifestations of this Wisdom are the sciences and arts, whose personifications are positioned above an illusionistic cornice, along with scholarly concepts and categories encoded in emblematic representations adorning the window keystones. On the window jambs are oval portraits of those who conveyed Divine Wisdom to the world – distinguished scholars, writers, and poets from antiquity to the 17th century. Slightly below these portraits are the elevated professors’ boxes, with student benches placed directly on the floor below. The Aula’s programme is completed by oval portraits in ornate frames, hung between the windows, depicting individuals who contributed to the university and the Society of Jesus. This original set of portraits was altered after Silesia came under Prussian control – images of King Frederick II and two Prussian curators of the university were added.
The restoration of the Aula Leopoldina, completed last year, has restored its original splendour – it is now undoubtedly one of the most magnificent secular Baroque interiors in all of Europe.”
Complied by: KGM
Added by: EJK
Date of publication: 14.07.2025
