Yesterday at 18:44
The National University of Ostroh Academy is the third in our series about the architecture of some universities across Ukraine.
It is the first institution of higher education in Eastern Europe. It was also here that the Ukrainian Book Publishing Industry was born. Ukraine’s second oldest printing center, after Lviv, was located at Ostroh in the 16th century. The first bible in the Slavonic language was discovered there.
The library on the premises took five years to build. Four hundred thousand publications are now stored there.
The academy was founded in 1576, by Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn of Ostroh, during the Polish and Lithuanian Commonwealth era. Students studied medicine, theology, philosophy and five different foreign languages then. The premises built by the prince had unfortunately not been preserved, so students have been studying in the building of the women’s school since the 19th century. The women’s school later turned into a seminary and a boarding school, then a boarding school for children dying from tuberculosis. In 1994, it became the Ostroh Academy.
There is a monastery on the premises founded by the Capuchin monks. In 1832, the monks were expelled by the Russian government. The monastery soon became a waste ground for 30 years. In 1965, an Orthodox church started in place of the Catholic monastery. During World War II, there was a hospital for German soliders.
Caves were accidentally found on the monastery premises. They also served as a church. It is located just below the altar of the main church above. There are also old crypts preserved in these caves.
