On 6–7 November 2026, Kraków will host the 33rd International Scientific Conference on Landscape, titled “Heritage in Times of Crisis: Responsibility, Resilience and Innovation.” The event is one of Poland’s most important scientific gatherings devoted to historic gardens, heritage conservation and cultural landscapes.
This year’s edition will examine the challenges facing heritage protection in an era of climate change, armed conflict and rapid social transformation. Among the questions to be explored: How can historic gardens and landscapes be protected in times of crisis? How can their resilience to extreme weather events be strengthened? How can respect for the authenticity of historic sites be balanced with the need to adapt to changing conditions? And what role can innovative technologies and interdisciplinary cooperation play in more effective conservation?
Conference themes
- Climate crisis: the impact of climate change on historic sites and cultural landscapes, threats from extreme weather, adapting historic objects to new climatic conditions, and sustainable management of cultural landscapes.
- Heritage in conflict and instability: protecting cultural property during war and humanitarian crises, documenting and digitally archiving endangered sites, post-destruction reconstruction, the ethics of reconstruction and the problem of authenticity, and heritage as a tool of memory and identity.
- Responsibility and resilience: heritage and social justice, inclusivity, education and cultural awareness, preventive strategies and risk management, interdisciplinary approaches to protection, and the use of artificial intelligence in monitoring and analysis.
The conference aims to create an interdisciplinary platform for exchanging knowledge, identifying new models of protection in crisis conditions, integrating theory, research and design practice, and pointing to innovative directions for the future of heritage conservation. It will bring together researchers, conservation specialists, landscape architects and representatives of heritage institutions from Poland and abroad.
Organisers and patrons
The conference is organised by the Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Kraków University of Technology, together with the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Association of Landscape Architecture (SAK), the National Institute of Heritage, the Voivodeship Office for Monument Protection in Kraków, the European Route of Historic Gardens, the Association of Polish Urban Planners (Kraków Branch), Egoé Polska and Architektura&Biznes. The Eduard Petzold Foundation once again serves as Honorary Patron.
Venue: Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, ul. Jana 28, Kraków
Dates: 6–7 November 2026
Registration: https://konferencjaogrodowa.pk.edu.pl/register
The detailed conference programme is available on the conference website. All those interested in the preservation and future of heritage are warmly invited to participate.
