History
The Chair of Economic History was established as a separate scientific and didactic unit at the Higher School of Economics (the former name of today’s University of Economics) in Cracow in 1958. Its organizer and first head was Professor Stanislaw Hoszowski (1904-1987), a student and collaborator of Franciszek Bujak (1875-1953), the founder of the so-called Lviv school of economic history in the interwar period.
Subsequent heads of the Chair were Professors Janina Bieniarzówna (1975-1984), Jan M. Małecki (1984-1997), Jan Szpak (1998-2008). In 2007, the name of the Chair was changed to the Chair of Economic and Social History. In 2008-2023 the Chair has been headed by Professor Jacek Purchla, and then Prof. Rafał Matyja (till 2025). Since 2025 the Chair has been led by Prof. Andrzej Laskowski. He has been maintaining its tradition and continued the main research trends initiated by the founders of the Chair, expanded over time to include cultural economics and cultural heritage management. The international cooperation within the UNITWIN/UNESCO network is run by Dr Joanna Sanetra-Szeliga, the current UNESCO Chair for Heritage and Urban Studies.
For more than a quarter of a century (1993-2019), the structure of the Chair has been two sections: the Section of Economic History and the Section of Urban Development, created by Professor Purchla, which in 2008 changed its name to the Chair of Cultural Heritage and Urban Studies and, in connection with the signed agreement between the university and UNESCO and giving it the status of UNESCO Chair. Currently the Chair is not divided into smaller sections.

UNESCO Chair for Heritage and Urban Studies
The UNESCO International Chairs Networking Program (University Twinning and Networking – UNITWIN/UNESCO CHAIRS) is part of a cooperative program implemented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is an international network of universities that supports UNESCO’s work in the fields of education, natural and social sciences, culture and communications. Its goal is to help face contemporary challenges and contribute to social development.
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Department staff
Under the leadership of Prof. Andrzej Laskowski, the Chair’s staff, assistant professors Piotr Miodunka, Joanna Sanetra-Szeliga and Michał Wiśniewski conduct key research in the field of issues included in the triad: history – city – heritage. In practice, these are: interdisciplinarity, research on the civilizational development of Galicia, research on the history of architecture and art, cultural heritage, synthesis and comparative studies: the city as a work of art, the city as a process, idea, function and form, demography, the role of culture in urban development, management of city resources.
In addition to individual interests and research projects, the Department’s staff carry out joint research projects. The result of the latest one these is, for example, a monograph entitled Urban Change in Central Europe. The Case of Kraków published in 2022 by Routledge publishing house in London and a special section in the Perspektywy Kultury journal, volume 44, 2024 – Historic City. At the moment there is another joint project conducted within the framework of the university’s Potential Program entitled “City and region in transformation: people, economy, history, heritage and technology” (2026-2027).