Grand Tour Trip through Poland

An event for members of the Augustus B. Sage Society of the American Numismatic Society

Friday, 23 September – Saturday, 1 October 2016

Under the direction of Dr. Ute Wartenberg Kagan, Executive Director, and several distinguished European numismatic scholars, members of the Sage Society will have the opportunity to visit some of the wonderful collections of coins and art in Poland this fall. We will be spending a week visiting the historic cities of Warsaw, Cracow, and Wrocław, all of which offer outstanding numismatic holdings, curated by some of Europe’s most renowned experts. There will also be plenty of time to visit magnificent nearby art museums and castles and to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Poland.

This is the eighth Sage Society trip, an annual event that has become one of the highlights of the American Numismatic Society calendar. Meeting with old friends, making new ones, and viewing treasures not commonly accessible to tourists should make this trip a memorable addition to Sage Society history.

Warsaw: We will begin our trip in the Polish capital, arriving on Friday evening at the five-star Bristol Hotel, and spending the next three days exploring the city, meeting with members of the Polish Numismatic Society, and enjoying special dinners with them and other Polish colleagues. Warsaw is both an ancient city and a new one, largely built after the Second World War. It is accordingly packed with culture, history, monuments, and museums, and our time there will be busy. Among our stops will be the Royal Castle Numismatic Cabinet, the Warsaw National Museum Numismatic Department, and the Warsaw Mint Museum. Depending on the interest of participants, we will be able to visit some of Warsaw’s beautiful churches and museums.

Radziwiłł Palace in Nieborów: On Tuesday, we will drive to Nieborow. There, our Polish colleagues have offered visits to the renowned Radziwiłł Palace, where we will enjoy a special dinner and stay overnight. Among the palace’s many delights are its garden in Nieborów, and the nearby Romantic Garden of Helena Radziwiłł in Arkadia, considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe. Designed by Tylman of Gameren, the palace is now a museum of interior design of palace residences of the 17th to the 19th century.

Formally, the Nieborów Palace is a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw, but it is able to accommodate visitors overnight. The Sage group will have the exceptional opportunity to experience first-hand how the Polish aristocracy lived. The palace houses a wonderful collection of Western paintings, several thousand drawings, books from the 16th century, porcelain, and textiles. In addition to its famed Baroque garden, the magnificent Nieborów park includes greenhouses, stables and the Hunting Pavilion.

Wrocław: Wednesday morning we will leave for a day trip to Wrocław (pronounced Vrots-waff; known also by its German name of Breslau). Wrocław lies in the middle of the Silesian Lowland, where the river Odra branches out to form 12 islands, and it is spanned by more than 100 bridges. At its center is the Market Square, in the Old Town, one of the most beautiful and largest urban squares in Poland, with some 200 restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs. This area is home to Wrocław’s many historical monuments and museums, as well as several hundred of the city’s unique sculptures of gnomes.

A highlight of our time in Wrocław is a visit to the renowned Ossolineum, a stunning Baroque palace on the Odra river, which was rebuilt after WWII to its 17th century original splendor. Today it is home to the Ossolineum Library – an important research center and national archive. The collections of the Ossolineum are some of the most valuable in the country and include manuscripts by Polish bards Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki, writings by Copernicus, and drawings by Rembrandt and Durer

Cracow (Kraków): We will leave Wrocław late Wednesday afternoon for dinner and hotel in Cracow, and then spend Thursday and Friday visiting this ancient capital city. Among its enticements are a stunning old city center (it’s on the UNESCO list of World Historic Sites) and some of the most beautiful architecture in Europe. Relatively undamaged by World War II, it is also home to some of the most heartbreaking remnants of Poland’s 20th century, including the preserved Jewish quarter. Finally, Cracow houses a unique numismatic destination, the collection of the National Museum in Kraków, which we will visit under the guidance of its curators. Other attractions are the Wawel Kings Castel, Collegium Maius, the oldest and original part of the Jagiellonian University (with exhibitions including coins, and Copernicus instrumentarium), and the famous salt mines.

Departure Sage trip participants will have the option of leaving from Cracow on Saturday morning and going directly to the airport outside Warsaw, or returning to Warsaw for one last evening and leaving Sunday morning (this extra hotel night is not included in the price).

Accommodations

• 4 nights at the five-star Bristol Hotel in Warsaw
• 1 night at the spectacular Radziwiłł Palace in Nieborów
• 3 nights at the Bonerowski Palace in Cracow

Registration

The price of the tour per person is $5,750 ($5,922.50 if paying by credit card). At this time a partial payment of $3,000 per person is due along with this form. Full payment must be received by August 15, 2016. The tour is limited to 12 people (Sage Society members and their partners). Deposits are not refundable, and cancellations must be received by July 1, 2015.

The price includes:

• Hotel accommodation with breakfast and dinner for eight nights
• All private guided tours, private van, and admission fees

Optional:

• Transportation to and from the airport in Warsaw can be arranged for an additional fee.

If you are interested in joining us, please register early. For more information about the trip, please feel free to contact Catherine DiTuri:

ABSS/Membership Department
American Numismatic Society
75 Varick Street, floor 11
New York, NY 10013
(212) 571-4470 ext. 117
Fax (212) 571-4479
membership@numismatics.org