The curriculum of the Faculty of Architecture, established in 1915 as part of the Warsaw University of Technology, included three separate paths for the teaching of historical subjects: the history of art and world architecture, the history of Polish architecture and the history of town planning, linked to urban design as an introduction to it. In the 1915 subject list, two subjects were about the history of art and world architecture: ‘Historya sztuki (ogólna) (History of World Art)’ with a breakdown by epoch and ‘Architektura (Architecture)’ [history] covering the development of shapes (materials, building elements, forms) with an overview of architecture by epoch: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and later. The implementation of the programme during the first period of the Faculty’s operation from 1915 to 1919/20 was affected by difficulties in assembling staff, the interruption of the Faculty’s activity in 1917, and wartime conditions. The separation of art history and architecture history, maintained in the programmes, was not respected in teaching practice, and the technology profile of the university had an impact on the declining share of art history in teaching. Elderly Józef Dziekoński who had a great authority and extensive creative achievements in the spirit of the 19th-century historicism, undertook to provide the teaching of the history of art and world architecture in 1915. He explored the medieval era most extensively, and also taught ancient art and architecture, as well as about the Renaissance. In 1916, architect Juliusz Kłos joined him, lecturing on the subject of Development of Shapes and, between 1918 and 1920, Baroque art and architecture. Many course hours were assigned to art and world architecture divided into subjects, with the allocation of hours by era. The teaching covered semesters 1-6 (there were 8 of them in total). The largest number of classes in world art and architecture were expected in semesters 4 and 5, with four hours of lectures and two hours of seminars each week. Overall, lectures outnumbered seminars by a ratio of 2:1. The provisional statute of the Warsaw University of Technology given by the German occupation authorities in 1915 stipulated that the teaching staff would be made up of ‘docents’ (readers / senior academics). In practice, the university employed teachers as ‘lecturers’ or ‘teachers’. After Poland regained its independent statehood in 1918, many areas of state life were put in order. In the field of education, the Commission for the Stabilisation of University Personnel and Structures in 1919, followed by the Sejm Act on Academic Schools of 1920, introduced the titles of associate and full professors at universities in conjunction with the creation of chairs for them and associate professors with a lower (dependent) academic status. Existing lecturers were given professorships and chairs in the Faculty of Architecture, teachers became associate professors with the condition of completing their doctorates. A number of previous teachers-turned-professors from the Faculty have left, including Juliusz Kłos. Between 1919 and 1920, a ‘new deal’ in terms of organisation and staffing took place at the Warsaw Faculty of Architecture. Józef Dziekoński became a professor in 1919 and took up the Chair of the History of Architecture and Medieval Art. Two eminent repatriates from Russia were appointed professors, who, like Dziekoński, had academic titles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg. Possessing an immense artistic and didactic output, Stanisław Noakowski became a professor in the Department of Modern Art in 1919. Marian Lalewicz, an eminent architect and experienced teacher, became a professor in 1920 and took over the Chair of the History of Architecture and Ancient Art. Departments were set up under the chairs of ancient and modern architecture to support the research and teaching activities of the chairs. The lecture subject Development of Shapes disappeared from the curriculum and the subject called Architectural Forms was introduced, divided between three departments, with a very large number of seminar hours assigned to it. The concentration of three eminent figures in the chairs of world architecture resulted, around 1920, in reaching the apogee of teaching hours devoted to the history of art and world architecture in the entire history of the Faculty of Architecture. For example, 2 hours of lecture and 8 hours of seminar per week were allocated to the history and forms of ancient architecture in semesters 1 and 2, and the history of ancient art got 1 hour for lectures and 1 hour for seminars per week in the academic year 1920/21. Similar teaching loads appear in the curricula of the history of medieval and modern architecture. With the spread of modernism in architecture in the second half of the 1920s, the hours assigned to the history of world architecture were trimmed in successive curricula, down to 2 hours of lectures and 2 hours of seminars per week in semesters 1 and 2 for the entire history of world architecture at the end of the century, i.e. in the academic year 1995/96. The three-chair system of world architecture established around 1920 survived until 1951, although staffing changed and the number of teaching hours decreased. Józef Dziekoński died in 1927; Antoni Karczewski took over his place until the Second World War. After Stanisław Noakowski’s death in 1928, modern architecture was headed by Jerzy Raczyński in 1928-1930, and then Lech Niemojewski took over in 1930, got habilitated in 1932 and headed the department until the war. Lech Niemojewski was an active designer, combining his interest in modern architecture with the practice of architectural history, whose didactics he modernised in terms of conducting seminars, teaching aids and introducing issues of architectural theory, including scale and proportion, into his teaching. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the German occupiers abolished Polish higher education institutions. The Department of Architecture operated in conspiracy, under conditions of terror. A limited number of graduates, PhDs, and postgraduates were promoted, teaching aids were adapted to the situation and scripts were prepared for students in ancient and modern architecture. After the resumption of the Faculty of Architecture in 1945, the system of three chairs for the history of world architecture continued in the first years. Lech Niemojewski was offered the chair of the History of Architecture and Medieval Art and the scientific supervision of the other chairs of world architecture. The Chair of the History of Ancient Architecture with the Department was entrusted to Jerzy Hryniewiecki, and Piotr Biegański took over the Chair of the History of Modern Architecture with the Department. The hours devoted to world architecture were reduced in comparison to the pre-war period. The staff of the history departments were actively involved in the reconstruction of Warsaw. The three chairs of world architecture were merged in 1951. A single chair was created, i.e. the Chair of History of Architecture and Art comprising two departments: Department of Architectural History and Department of Architectural Forms. The acting head of the chair was Piotr Biegański, who, after becoming a professor in 1954, became head of the chair in 1955 and held the position until 1970. After a brief episode of socialist realism in the early 1950s, the chair introduced significant modernisations to its teaching programme. A new subject called Contemporary Architecture was added, and Art History was to be taught separately as part of the new subject called History of Culture and Civilisation. A modernisation of the subject called Architectural Forms was undertaken, with the introduction preliminary design in addition to the traditional seminars, but excluded in 1963 and transferred to the Design Chair. In the Chair of History of Architecture and Art, scientific research was developed and fieldwork was carried out, e.g. in Wiślica and Frombork, and conservation projects for reconstructions, adaptations or new additions to ancient architecture were prepared on this basis. Cooperation was initiated with the Mediterranean Archaeology Station in Cairo headed by Professor Kazimierz Michałowski. The organisational structure of the Faculty of Architecture was concentrated in 1970. Four institutes replaced numerous chairs. The units of the structure with a historical and related profile and with an artistic profile were merged to form the Institute of Fundamentals of Architectural Development. It comprised: The Chair of History of Architecture and Art, the Chair of Polish Architecture comprising the Chair of Polish Architecture and the Chair of Historic Preservation, as well as the Chair and Department of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. The Institute of Fundamentals of Architectural Development took over the management of the subject called History of Town Planning, previously taught by the urban design units since 1915. The Institute of Fundamentals of Architectural Development consisted of the Department of History of Architecture and Town Planning, Department of Drawing and Architectural Forms (later Department of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture) and the Design and Research Studio. The Institute changed its name to the Institute of the History of Architecture and Art in the academic year 1983/84. Directors of the Institute: Piotr Biegański (1970-1973), Andrzej Tomaszewski (1973-1981), Anna Czapska (1981-1987) and again Andrzej Tomaszewski (1987-1988), Jolanta Putkowska (1988-1991). In terms of didactics, the integrated subject called Development of Architectural and Urban Planning Thought was introduced in the academic year 1974/75, covering architecture and urban planning: ancient, medieval, modern – world and Polish, taught in semesters 1-4. Subjects: Contemporary Architecture in semesters 6-7, History of Culture and Civilisation in semester 7 and Historic Preservation in semester 8 remained separate. The integration of the history of architecture and town planning of the different eras was abandoned in the 1980s, restoring their distinctiveness and the teaching units assigned to them. Architectural measurement practices were conducted at the Institute. Two postgraduate programmes were in operation. The greatest achievements during the Institute’s period of operation were in the fields of research and the training of scientific staff. Among the Institute’s staff alone, nine PhDs and 10 post-doctoral fellows were promoted, and four staff members were awarded professorships. People from outside the Institute were also promoted. Strong specialisations were developed in the study of the architecture of Warsaw in different periods, as well as the study of 19th and 20th century architecture. Numerous scientific publications were produced, including more than a dozen books. Many employees attained the status of experts in the sense the term had before its current devaluation. Field research was conducted at home and abroad. International cooperation was developing. In terms of design, the greatest achievement consisted of the reconstruction of the Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw (1973-1978), designed by Piotr Biegański and his team. The Faculty of Architecture underwent a major decentralisation In 1991. Six departments have emerged from the Institute: Department of History of World Architecture, Department of Polish Architecture, Department and then Chair of History of Town Planning, Department of Contemporary Architecture, Department of Historic Preservation, Department of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture.