An academy chapel was established in the second and third storeys of a building in the west wing of the Academy Courtyard in the mid-18th century. During the time of the Academy, the chapel arches were decorated with a mural representing the patron saint of students, St. Stanislaw Kostka.
When the Jesuit Order was abolished in 1773, the chapel was given to the physics department, and by 1775 housed a physics laboratory. A drawing studio for the art department was set up in the third-storey hall at the beginning of the 19th century. It was the workplace of Prof. Jan Rustem. The decor of the hall arches was restored in 1930 by painter and restorer Jerzy Hopen.
After the restorations, this hall became the home of Joachim Lelewel's collection of books and atlases, and became known as the Lelewel Hall.
