On October 2, 2023, La Poste will issue a block of 1 stamp to mark the 140th anniversary of the inaugural journey of the Orient-Express Paris-Constantinople.
Anniversary year, 2023 marks the beginning of the luxury train adventure around the world, embodied by the Orient-Express. 140 years after its creation on October 4, 1883, the first European transcontinental belongs to everyone's memories. Today, it is no longer just a train, but a real myth which is part of our history and our heritage.
Founded by the Belgian engineer Georges Nagelmackers (1845-1905), from a family of industrialists and bankers from Liège, the Orient-Express is inseparable from the company that operated it: the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons -beds. It is this which contributes to the widespread use of new railway equipment on the European continent. Sleeping cars are revolutionizing the world of transport both in terms of speed, comfort and safety. Of all the trains created, the Orient-Express is undoubtedly the best known, symbol of the luxury and refinement of the golden age of rail travel.
Connecting Paris to Constantinople in 81 hours, it represents a diplomatic and economic tour de force. With it, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Belgrade and Sofia are directly connected to each other, and to the two prestigious terminal cities. The Orient-Express then becomes one of the main axes of communication between East and West, a true link between a diversity of territories and cultures.
140 years after the maiden voyage of the Orient-Express and in the context of the return to light of night trains, its rebirth is underway to offer the ultimate experience of railway luxury, thus continuing to write a new page in its history.
