Krāslava New Palace or Plater's Palace (; ) is located in the historical region of
Latgale
Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...
, in eastern
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. It is an 18th-century manor ensemble with main manor house and other manor buildings and a Baroque-style park.
History
From 1553, the noble
Plater family
The Plater family is a German nobility, German noble family originating in Westphalia, whose members first settled in Livonia and later in Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuania and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland.https://worldhistory.de/wnf ...
owned the
Indrica Manor. In 1729
Jan Ludwik Plater,
starosta
Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.
The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
of
Daugavpils
Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
and later at the
voivode of Inflanty (1735-1736) bought
Krāslava
Krāslava (; , , , , ) is a town and the administrative centre of Krāslava Municipality. The town lies on the Daugava, upstream and to the east of the city of Daugavpils. Most of the town is situated on the right coast of the Daugava. As defined ...
, formerly property of
Wolff von Lüdinghausen. His son
Konstanty Ludwik Plater
Konstanty Ludwik Plater () (1722 – 31 March 1778 in Krāslava), was Castellan of Trakai from 1770, voivode of Mstislavl from 1758 to 1770, Castellan of Polotsk from 1754 to 1758, the Great Scribe of Lithuania from 1746 to 1754, Marshal of the ...
(1722-1778) married daughter of Prince August
Ogiński and around 1750 began building a two-story stone building with a mansard roof near the ruins of the Kraslava Order Castle on the Theater Hill. Contraction was completed in 1791 by his youngest son, August Hyacint Plater. It is speculated that the Baroque-style palace project may have been designed by Jan Valentin Didreišten, architect of the Kraslava Town Hall, or was designed in collaboration with Antonio Paroko, architect of the
Kraslava Roman Catholic Church.
In 1824 the building was rebuilt according to the canons of classicism. Next to the palace were also other manor buildings: steward's and gardener's house, canaries, stable, ice cellars, orangery. Around the New Palace on the slopes of the
Daugava
The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...
valley was established a landscape park of approximately 22 ha.
Following the October Revolution in Russian Empire, during 1917-1919 Plater's palace was plundered and damaged. Count Gustav Christoph Plater, the last owner of the estate, died in Riga in 1923, and his wife, Mary Plater, emigrated to Spain, where she died in 1949. In 1923 the Kraslava Gymnasium was opened in the nationalized palace. The first Gymnasium director was Valery Salem. In 1944, the school was renamed Kraslava Secondary School No. 1, started training in field of manufacturing, and set up workshops in the old stables of the manor to teach mechanics. In 1972 the 1st Secondary School was moved from the old palace to building on 25 Raiņa Street, which was built in 1964 for the 2nd Secondary School.
In 1984, exploration of the interior walls resulted in the discovery of ancient palace wall paintings. Currently, the Kraslava Museum of History and Art operates in the territory of the manor complex. At the end of 2011, with the support of the
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
, the historical appearance of the Kraslava Manor Park was restored according to the 1824 plan. The park's pond has been cleaned, walking paths have been set up along the park's terraces and in the courtyard of the palace, and new stairs have been built in their historical place.
Arhitektes Ilzes Māras Janeles pārdomas par Krāslavas parku
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After the renovation, the former palace stables are home to the "House of Crafts", where various events are held.
See also
*List of palaces and manor houses in Latvia
This is a list of palaces and manor houses in Latvia built after the 16th century. This list does not include castles, which are listed in a List of castles in Latvia, separate article. And as there are more than 1000 manor houses and palaces in ...
References
External links
*
Krāslava
Palaces in Latgale
Baroque palaces in Latvia
Plater family
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