TNMU Students Visited Ivan Horbachevsky Museum-Estate

Our university is named after Ivan Horbachevsky. Horbachevsky was born on May 5, 1854 in the village of Zarubyntsi, now Ternopil district of Ternopil region. Today, on the site of his house there is a historical monument museum estate of Ivan Horbachevsky, which was restored by Ternopil National Medical University.

Group MM-119 had a great opportunity to visit the place where the great man lived and worked. We learn a lot about Ivan Yakovych and his achievements. The museum presents documents and objects that illustrate the life and scientific path of Ivan Horbachevsky. We were able to get acquainted with his scientific works.

Some of the exhibits were preserved and donated to the museum estate by Anton Horbachevsky’s granddaughter – art critic Iryna-Romana Nosyk. Among the academician’s belongings is a napkin embroidered by Ivan Horbachevsky’s daughter while teaching in Transcarpathia, as well as embroidery presented to the academician by Olena Pchilka. Thanks to these exhibits, we were able to feel the atmosphere of those times.

Ivan Horbachevsky graduated from the First Ternopil Classical Gymnasium, where he became one of the first members of the Hromada group. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna (graduated in 1877), received a doctorate in medicine. He is the author of more than forty thorough scientific works, mostly experimental in biological chemistry. The first scientific work “Synthesis of uric acid” (1882) brought a scientific recognition to Ivan Horbachevsky. For the first time in the world, a 28-year-old Ukrainian synthesized uric acid from glycine; no one succeeded it before, although world famous scientists: E. Fischer, W. Traube, O. Rosen and others, worked on it. He was the first who pointed out that amino acids are components of proteins; established ways of formation of uric acid in an organism. He discovered the enzyme xanthine oxidase (1888). He also suggested a new method for determining the capacity of nitrogen in urine and other substances. He wrote a 4-volume textbook of medicinal chemistry in Czech.

Horbachevsky was a founder of the ministry and was the first Minister of Health of Austria-Hungary. Moreover, this ministry, which specializes exclusively in health care, was the first in Europe and the world.

This tour was very interesting and we learned a lot about the life of Ivan Horbachevsky, his fate and achievements. We express our gratitude to Galina Hryhorivna Habor and Orysia Myroslavivna Smachylo for this opportunity in our student life.