Scientific traditions of the Cracow Doctor's Association.

967 is how, in 1866, the Cracow Doctors’ Association came into existence.1,2 The assumption was that it would not compete with the Department of Natural Science and Med‐ icine of the Cracow Science Association. During the departmental meetings, subjects concerning the theory of medical science were discussed, and during the Association meetings, medical practice problems were covered. That is why, at the begin‐ ning, many physicians, including world ‐famous doctors, took part in both organizations.3 Due to the fact that it is impossible to separate the‐ ory and practice in medicine, gradually, all med‐ ical issues were transferred to the newly estab‐ lished Association. Doctor Aleksander Kremer (1813–1880) was the driving force in creating the Cracow Doctors’ Association. He saw the absolute necessity of es‐ tablishing an independent institution gathering physicians and engaged the help of several of his fellow physicians, who had been active in the De‐ partment of Natural Science and Medicine of the Cracow Science Association, in his activities. Those people decided to meet during the scien‐ tific sessions in their own, strictly medical group. The meetings took place in their private apart‐ ments. At the same time, they were working on a legal constitution for their new assembly.1,3,4 Af‐ ter a year of preparations and arrangements, on December 18, 1866, the newly created Association had its first scientific session. The list of founding members was as follows: Aleksander Kremer (a forensic doctor) Jakób Blattejs (an independent physician), Błażej Bobrzyński (a practicing phy‐ sician in St. Lazarus Hospital), Franciszek Bu‐ likowski (a practicing physician in Holy Spirit Hos‐ pital), Józef Fałęcki (a former adjunct professor in the Department of Medicine at Jagiellonian Uni‐ versity), Jan Gawlik (a former adjunct professor in the Department of Medicine at Jagiellonian Uni‐ versity), Jan Harajewicz (a former practicing pris‐ on physician and a former director of hospitals in Kraków), Józef Doskowski (a former adjunct Introduction The Cracow Doctors’ Association (in Polish: Towarzystwo Lekarskie Krakowskie) came into being in 1866, soon after the commu‐ nity of Galicia gained unexpected privileges due to the political changes in the Austro ‐Hungarian Empire. Compared to the Russian Partition, where persecution of Poles dramatically escalated after the collapse of the January Uprising, in Galicia favorable reforms were implemented. Austria, which miraculously did not come apart as a result of the war with Prussia in 1866, decided to fight for favor of the nations making up its monarchy in order to unite them with the country and the rul‐ ing dynasty. A “Time of thaw” was coming. All po‐ sitions of authority were held by Poles, and count Agenor Gołuchowski became the governor gen‐ eral of Galicia. Imperial dispositions gave us na‐ tional autonomy and Polish language in schools, courts, and administrative offices. German re‐ mained the official language only in the post of‐ fice, railway and police departments. Despite this, as time went by, anti ‐Polish behaviors and restric‐ tions escalated, but the situation was mitigated by the tense relations between Russia and Aus‐ tria and the need to secure the Poles’ support in the case of war between the two powers. Kraków was one of the most important cities in Galicia, and as a matter of fact the center of Polish scien‐ tific, cultural, and social life. That is why Kraków was the place where Polish scientific ‐patriotic ideas were developed by members of different clubs and organizations. Medical ideas and publications started to ap‐ pear in 1816 in the newly created Cracow Science Association and its Medical Section. The Associa‐ tion began to publish its own periodical, Yearbook of Cracow Science Association, where members of particular sections could publish their disserta‐ tions and papers. Slowly, the medical subjects, dif‐ ficult for laypeople to understand due to the spe‐ cific content of their issues, started to attract a lot of interested physicians, who began to consider creating their own scientific organization. That HISTORY OF INTERNAL MEDICINE