Ukrainian Girls' Institute in Peremyshl

Ukrainian Girls' Institute in Peremyshl (Український інститут для дівчат у Перемишлі; Ukrainskyi institut dlia divchat u Peremyshli). A secondary school for young women in Peremyshl, Galicia, supported by private funds, in which education was provided in the Ukrainian language. It was opened in 1895; in 1903 the higher grades of the institute were transformed into a lyceum, and in 1920 into a gymnasium. The school, which boasted the first forced central air heating in Eastern Europe, a tennis court, a large library, and a massive three-story building that is still in use today, was the fruit of private initiative and fund-raising efforts. It was founded by Ukrainian parents and Ukrainian Catholic clergy who wanted to provide Ukrainian women with the opportunity to acquire a secondary education to prepare them for admission to university or teacher training institutes. The school accommodated about 200 boarders, and another 50 or so day students. It employed female and male faculty members and prided itself on progressive educational approaches, which included sports, foreign languages, and sciences. The school was closed down by Soviet authorities in 1939.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]