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PRE-CONGRESS
EXCURSIONS
18-19 September 2006 (Monday/Tuesday), 2 days, full board 1.
The Wielkopolska Province | Poznań - Biskupin - Gniezno - Ostrów Lednicki
- Poznań
The Wielkopolska Province is one of the largest regions in Poland (29,825 sq km). It is conveniently situated at the junction of major European communication routes, such as from Berlin through Poznań, to Konin and Warsaw and on to Moscow; and from Prague through Leszno and Poznań to the Baltic Sea. Wielkopolska
is an attractive region with numerous tourist sites. Special attention
goes to the Wielkopolska National
Park with an area of 7620 ha, founded in 1957.
Monday, 18 September 2006 08h00
- Coach departure from IKAR
Hotel in Poznań.[how
to get to Poznań]
Excavations
on the Lake Biskupin peninsula were initiated in 1934. It was the first
prehistoric site in Poland excavated on a large scale by an interdisciplinary
team of specialists using sophisticated research methods and techniques.
Wooden remains of the fortified settlement from the 8th century BC have
been found in an excellent state of preservation due to wetland, wood protecting
conditions. Biskupin has been often called the Polish Pompeii.
Participants
will visit the Archaeological Museum and will participate at the 12th Archeological
Festival entitled "Romans and Barbarians", held there from 16th until 24th
September 2006.
12h00 - Arrival to Gniezno - the first capital of Poland, situated on seven hills and surrounded by lakes. The oldest part of the city is the Lech Hill, where a fortified settlement constructed in the 8th century was discovered. The best attraction of Gniezno is a cathedral built before 977 by Mieszko I, which has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries. It includes the famous Romanesque Doors with panels representing scenes from St. Adalbert’s life as well as a silver reliquary of the saints, a number of statues, paintings, epitaphs and tombstones. The library has a valuable collection of illuminated manuscripts and the cathedral treasury houses a collection of silverworks. Museum
of The Origins of The Polish State established in 1978, preserves chiefly
medieval pieces as well as objects related to the history of Gniezno and
its surroundings. It boasts Europe's richest collection of Gothic stove
tiles and one of the largest collections of Renaissance tiles in Poland.
Among the most valuable holdings are also items from the Gniezno cathedral,
most notably fragments of the Romanesque floor, Renaissance stone stoups
and liturgical vessels.
FOT: W. RACZKOWSKI After crossing the Lednica Lake by boat to its biggest island, we will visit an archaeological reservation with the remains of a church and duke's castle (dated to the end of the 10th century), thought to be the home of the first Kings of the Piast dynasty. The meeting between Duke Boleslaus the Brave and the German Emperor Otto III in A.D. 1000 is believed to take place there.
Near
the village, there is the Wielkopolska Ethnographic Park with numerous
examples of old architecture such as farm-houses, mansions, wind mills,
granaries. To protect the landscape and its beauty (lakes) along with precious
archeological heritage, the authorities created the Lednica Landscape Park
with the total area of 2791 ha.
Overnight
in IKAR Hotel
Tuesday, 19 September 2006 08h00
- Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby.
08h30
- A short city tour of Poznań includes a visit to the Old Town Square with
the 16th century Renaissance Town Hall and numerous historical monuments
and museums; the Parish church - one of Poland's most impressive baroque
buildings with rich interior decorations and the Cathedral on the Ostrów
Tumski Island - the oldest part of the city with the tombstones of
the first Polish rulers.
10h00
- Visit
to the Archeological Museum in Poznań
11h00-
Departure for Cracow
PRICE
per person in single room: 358,00 EUR
The above price includes: - accommodation
for 2 nights: 17/18 and 18/19 September 2006 in 2 stars hotel in Poznań
2. The Polish Carpathians | Cracow - Niedzica - the Dunajec River Gorge (a trip down the river on rafts) - Zakopane - Cracow Monday, 18 September 2006 08h00 - Departure from Wyspiański Hotel, Westerplatte St.,15 09h30 - Visit to the Palaeolithic Oblazowa Cave. 10h30
-
Visit to Dębno
Podhalańskie - a small village in the vicinity of the Podhale (literally
"Mountain meadows"), sometimes referred to as the "Polish highlands").
Its capital - Nowy Targ
- is famous for its wooden artefacts and monuments. It is believed that
the the local wooden church was built in the 14th century by highland robbers.
Inside the church there is an impressive polychrome representing 33 shades
of paints with unique floral and faunal designs, a gothic and renaissance
triptych of the 16th century and a dulcimer calling to the service applied
instead of a traditional bell.
11h30
- Departure for Niedzica
13h30
- Lunch in local restaurant in Niedzica
15h00
- After lunch rafting
down the Dunajec river through the Pieniny Gorge on highlanders' raft.
17h00 - The tour moves on to Zakopane. 18h00 - Accommodation at Mercure Kasprowy Hotel. 19h30 - Dinner with a glass of wine at one of the famous regional restaurant Overnight
in the hotel.
Tuesday, 19 September 2006 08h30 - Meeting with a guide at the hotel lobby Sightseeing
of Zakopane.
Zakopane - the biggest tourist centre called the winter capital of Poland, but it is visited all year long. The town, situated at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, has developed as a tourist centre in the second half of the 19th century. It includes numerous examples of historic mountaineers' trade buildings, in particular at Ko¶cieliska and Krupówki streets and the adjacent ones. Zakopane's beautiful landscape is a perfect setting for hundreds of sports and cultural events, including the annual International Festival of Highlanders' Folklore (in August) that attracts throngs of tourists from the whole world. The
last point of this sightseeing tour is a ride by a cable car to the top
of Gubałówka Mountain to admire the splendid panorama of the Tatras.
11h30
- Departure to Chochołów - an open air ethnographical
park with many beautiful examples of wooden architecture.
Visiting
a local workshop of wooden sculptures.
14h00 - Lunch at a forester's cottage. 15h30 - Depart to Cracow 18h30
- Return to Cracow
PRICE
per person in single room 365,00 EUR
The above price includes: - accommodation
for 2 nights (17/18 and 18/19 September 2006) in 3 stars hotels:
IMPORTANT
NOTES
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