ICC at the EAUH 2026 conference in Barcelona: “City Networks in Europe and Beyond”

The 17th conference of the European Association for Urban History is taking place in Barcelona from 2 to 5 September. Its main theme is “City Networks in Europe and Beyond”. Attending the EAUH conference are Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, Director of the ICC; Prof. Jacek Purchla, the Director’s Representative for Research; Dr Michał Wiśniewski from the Educational Department – The Academy of Heritage; and Dr Żanna Komar from the Research Institute of European Heritage.

The strategic role of cities in shaping Europe

The main theme – “City Networks in Europe and Beyond” – highlights the strategically important role of cities, both in the past and today. It draws attention to the fact that links between urban centres have had just as great an impact on the shaping of Europe and the expansion of its influence across the globe as states have. The organisers point out that whilst the history of Europe is often identified with states and nations, it is, to a large extent, first and foremost the history of its cities.

The EAUH conference also aims to support interdisciplinary initiatives that bring together history, geography, urban planning, architecture, cultural heritage, museology and other humanities and environmental sciences, which are crucial for the preservation of contemporary democratic culture.

Participation in the EAUH conference reaffirms the ICC’s position as an institution that actively contributes to the international debate on the city, heritage and culture, combining academic research with institutional practice. The presence of ICC representatives at several thematic sessions also reflects the consistently developing cooperation with the European community of researchers, experts and institutions working in the field of heritage.

Session on urban community networks co-organised by the ICC

The theme of the session co-organised by the ICC is: “Local urban community networks and the modernisation of the periphery in the modern era (c. 1850–1939)”. Its aim is to examine urban community networks as key social forces that played an autonomous role in the modernisation of Europe’s peripheries.

In addition to a representative of the Educational Department – The Academy of Heritage – Dr Michał Wiśniewski – the coordinators of the debate “Local urban community networks and the modernisation of the periphery in the modern era (c. 1850–1939)” also include:

• Dr hab. Aleksander Łupienko, Professor at the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences (IH PAN),
• Dr hab. Rafał Matyja, Professor at the Krakow University of Economics (UEK),
• Dr hab. Kamil Śmiechowski, Professor at the University of Łódź (UŁ).

Challenges for historic and Art Nouveau towns in Europe

Prof. Jacek Purchla will speak during the session entitled “Heritagisation of urban landscapes”. The aim of this debate will be to understand how the concept of the historic urban landscape is used in global and local discourses to bridge the divide between culture and nature in the urban environment and to define the spatial specificity of the historic city. Prof. Jacek Purchla’s presentation, entitled “World Heritage Convention – New Challenges for Historic Cities” will focus on how the past shapes the contemporary development of historic cities and will examine them as an arena of tensions and interactions between society and heritage. Professor Purchla’s talk will encourage reflection on the complex issue of preserving historic cities in an era of rapid civilisational change.

The theme of the next session, featuring representatives from the ICCK, is “Geopolitics and the spread of Art Nouveau in Europe”. Participants in the discussion will examine Art Nouveau as one of the first architectural styles to possess such a cosmopolitan character. They will also highlight its connection with the formation of national identity during a period of profound change across Europe. Dr Michał Wiśniewski’s presentation will be entitled “Between the countryside and the metropolis. The role of Kraków’s Art Nouveau architecture in shaping Polish national art before the First World War and during the interwar period”. Dr Żanna Komar, meanwhile, will present the topic “Art Nouveau architecture in Lviv as a reflection of the region’s political geography”.

Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik and Dr Michał Wiśniewski will also present, on 3 September, during the event “History & Heritage Corner. Book presentations” , the “Herito” magazine and will provide an overview of the topics covered in the journal published by the ICC.

More information about the conference can be found on the organiser’s website
Conference programme

Photo: Michał Wiśniewski