Polscy studenci na Uniwersytecie w Dorpacie w latach 1802–1918

The University of Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia) is one of the oldest universities in the Eastern Europe. It was founded by King of Sweden Gustav II Adolf in 1632. After a long break in operating due to the long wars the University resumed its activities in 1802, already under the Russian rule. The University was organized on the German model and in comparison with other universities existing in the Russian Empire, it featured the atmosphere of freedom of thought and research, especially in the first decades after the reopening. At the University of Dorpat studied representatives of many nationalities, including Poles. Historians have often tried to determine the national composition of students. In the holdings of the Historical Archive in Tartu is preserved rich documentation of the university from the years 1802–1918, being now the fond. No 402. 14-piece-inventory developed in German and Russian facilitates access to the fond. The fond contains a lot of data on students: their personal affairs, collective lists (of students, the enrolled, graduates, lists of people liable to military service, hand-written curriculum vitae) and materials relating to student organizations (corporations, special interest groups). Unfortunately, in none of these types of sources one can find information about the nationalities, so in many cases the nationality of individual students could be determinated on the basis of the unreliable criteria such as the following: names, religion, place of birth. Therefore, any attempt to determine the exact national composition of students in Tartu is always subject to a certain margin of error.