Jacek Ludwik Broel-Plater's speech delivered on September 14, 2002 in Saint Louis Cathedral, Kraslaw, for the dedication of the Counts Plater school standard.

(Translated from the Polish by Mervyn B. de Plater and Bibi Tiley)

- Host and Warden of the Cathedral, the Reverend Prelate Joseph Lapkowski
- Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate, Madam Jolanta Danielak
- Deputy Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Mr Richard Piks
- Your Excellency, Dr. Fiszbach, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Riga
- Members of the Latvian Parliament, Madam Kiezik and Mr Labanowski
- Professor Zbigniew Wozniak, Representative of the "Polish Commonwealth" Program
- Mr Jan Traczuma, Mayor of the Town of Kraslaw
- Teaching staff of the school
- Representatives of the Polish Alliance in Latvia
- All youth, their parents and families present

On behalf of the Plater family, I wish to thank the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland for the endowment of the primary Polish school in Kraslaw, named after the Family of the Counts Plater. I think the selection of place and name is very appropriate for this school.


The Platers established themselves in Latvia in the XVth century, having arrived from Westphalia and having united their destiny to this region for the next five centuries. Thus they shared in the building of a state and a community. They died out in their first homeland, in order to be re-born in great numbers and to distinguish themselves in their new homeland.

Grateful for their reception as a Baltic family within the Polish Commonwealth, they served King Sigismund Augustus of Poland and gave expression to their "Polishness". They defended the Royal Republic in the wars against Moscow under King Stefan Batory and participated in the relief of Vienna under King Jan III Sobieski.

They persevered and were provident, distinguishing themselves in public life and business. They were patrons of the arts; collectors of archival materials and works of art. They were founders of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches and synagogues. They were financial supporters of the University in Wilno, schools and seminaries. They lived in Livonia, Zmudz, Lithuania, Volhynia and Podole.


Jan Ludwik lived from 1670 to 1736 and is considered to be the ancestor of the Livonian branch of the Platers. On January 25, 1729 he purchased the estates of Kombul and Kraslaw including a town of this name.

His son, Konstanty Ludwik, lived from 1722 to 1778 and built this church named after Saint Louis, King of France. The Parliament of 1768 decreed that this church was to be known as "a Cathedral in the diocese of Livonia for all times". In 1776 the wife of Konstanty Ludwik, Augusta Oginska, imported the relics of St Donat from Rome and funded a chapel named after the saint.

After Konstanty Ludwik came the rapid development of the town. Numerous Kraslaw factories were built and their products sold and sought after not only in Poland but also in Russia. The first partition of Poland put a brake on the economic development of the town as the area now found itself under Russian domination.


The partitions were a national ordeal. The Platers, like all Poles, shared in new and often unacceptable conditions. They did not remain inactive, however, but continued their involvement in matters of the judiciary and education.

Lives were lost for the nation's freedom during each insurrection:

   - in 1831, Emilia died;

   - in 1863, Leon, was executed by a firing squad in the fortress at Dyneburg;

   - as well there were numerous deportations and forfeitures of estates.

Reprisals and exactions forced many members of the family to look for new places to live - in Western Europe and even Australia. These departures and the establishment of independent Poland in 1918 meant that many of the family homes were abandoned. During the Second World War Poles were murdered and deported; likewise for the Plater family. At the end of World War II, the family was dispersed throughout the world, and those who remained in Poland lived under a hostile regime.


Today's festivities are not only a holiday for Kraslaw which has a new school; it is also a holiday for our family because we have not had such a family holiday in 60 years. For this we give many thanks to everyone who has made this possible.

We wish to show our affection for the students by presenting them with a standard which will be the emblem of their new school. The standard contains the emblem of Latvia of which these students are citizens, a state in which they will live and for which they will work. There is also an emblem of the Republic of Poland's White Eagle, which for us Poles, is a symbol of national tradition. You will be attending the Polish school and benefit from these ideas and traditions. Included in the standard are the arms of the Plater family, who because of their sense of duty served their country well in good times and in bad times.

Dear teachers we wish that the grain of knowledge bestowed by you on these Kraslaw lands produce hundredfold crops.

In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to the late Jan Plater-Gajewski who for decades fought for a Polish school in Latvia.

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