Order of Saint Stanislaus
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The Order of Saint Stanislaus (Polish: Order św. Stanisława, Russian: Орденъ св. Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was an Order in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831. The next was the Royal and Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus existed between 1832 and 1917 under the House of Romanov. This one is continued awarding in exile.
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[edit] History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus
Stanislaus II Augustus Poniatowski, King of Poland established the Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr on May 8, 1765 to honor the service to the King.
After the partition of Poland it was recognized in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. Since 1815 in the Polish (Congress) Kingdom, the Order, originally in a single class, was retained and divided into four classes. At 25 January 1831 Polish Parliament deposed tsar Nicholas I of Russia (also grand master of this Polish Order) from the throne of Poland. After the downfall of the November Uprising the Imperial House of Romanov created the Royal and Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus and added it to the awards system of the Russian Empire in 1832, where it remained until 1917. In 1915 was recreated Kingdom of Poland independent from House of Romanov, next in 1918 Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic, the Order was not renewed and was replaced by the Order of Polonia Restituta.
[edit] The Orders of Saint Stanislaus in existence today
There are several Orders of Saint Stanislaus in existence today. These different Orders and grand-masters do not recognize each other as legitimate successors or revivals of the Order of Saint Stanislaus.
In chronological order:
- The Royal and Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus, a house order issued by the head of the Imperial House of Romanov. This is the imperial Order that was abolished in Soviet Russia in 1918. Nevertheless the head of the Imperial House of Romanov occasionally awards crosses in this order.
- A false order of Saint Stanislaus was active in Italy in the 1950s. It no longer exists.
- The Order of Saint Stanislaus (1979) founded in 1979 by Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki, head of one of the two governments that claimed to be the successor to the exiled Polish government-in-exile that fled to London in 1939.
- The Oekrainian chapter of the International Order of Saint Stanislaus founded in 1979 declared itself independent.
- The Order of Saint Stanislaus (1990) founded by Polish citizens as a confraternity organization award headed by Prof. Karek Kwiatkowski, and Stanislaw Iwanczak. This Order of Saint Stanislaus is meant to be a restoration of the former Polish order (1765-1832). The new order is not, however, an official order of the Polish State. The new Order of Saint Stanislas divided into four grand priories (of Poland, Germany, Malta, and Finland). The Grand Priories of Germany, of Malta, and of Finland belong to the order headquartered in Poland, and it is headed by a grand master, currently Prof. Dr. Marek Kwiatkowski. The government of the new order is seated in the Łazienki Palace in Warsaw.
[edit] Bibliography
- Stanisław Łoza, "Kawalerowie Orderu Świętego Stanisława 1765–1813" (Warszawa 1925)
- Norbert Wójtowicz, "Praemiando Incitat - Order Świętego Stanisława (Wybrane dokumenty)" (Warszawa 2007) ISBN 978-83-925702-0-2
[edit] External links
- Webpage of the Order of St.Stanislas
- Webpage of the Grand Priory of the Order of St.Stanislas in Germany
- Order of St. Stanislas
- Almanach de Chivalry 2008
- The Self-Styled Order of St. Stanislas of Mr. Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki
- Opinion of G. Stair Sainty
- The Once and Perhaps Still Lucrative Trade in Polish Military Decorations
