Kraslava Travel Guide

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Von Plater family constructed palace and park around at middle of 18th century. It was used for residential purposes. Later it was rebuilt and was used as school at soviet times. It is quite neglect now, seems that after taking care of such place it could be great destination for visitors of Latgala region.

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Try to time your visit to Krāslava on a Sunday (it makes a nice day trip from Daugavpils), since the churches tend to be closed on other days.

Saint Donat's was built to be the seat of Bishop of Inflanty (Polish Livonia) between 1755 and 1767 by the Italian architect Antonio Paraco at the behest of Konstanty Ludwik Broel-Plater.

The Polish government paid for the recent restoration of the altar painting by Jan Matejko -- and discovered a fresco of even greater value by Filippo Castaldi.

The Aleksandr Nevsky Orthodox Church, also commissioned by the Platers, is nearby.

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It's a wreck -- but if you are intrepid you can crawl in... and if you are rich, you can buy it for a song! The palace dates to the mid-18th C, as do the neglected gardens. It was rebuilt and additions were made, it saw destruction prior to the liberation of Latgola, and then it served as the main school until the 1970s. During a planned restoration, frescoes based upon Piranesi were discovered, and then the difficult transition period set in. For a while it was on offer at one lats (less than a euro!). Now it'll run you a bit more -- fixing up the romantic gardens alone will cost you an arm and a leg, however... but the views are unsurpassed!