This book continues the series of publications ‘Monuments of Art in Latvia’ that began with the book ‘The Heritage of Religious Architecture and Art in Daugavpils District ‘ by Rūta Kaminska and Anita Bistere (2006).
This volume in the series “Monuments of Art in Latvia” is devoted to the religious architecture and art of the former Krāslava District. The present-day situation of Krāslava District, corresponding to its former boundaries, is reflected in the treatment of the churches located in the town of Krāslava and in Krāslava County, in the town and county of Dagda, and in Aglona County, arranged in separate chapters.
When considering the architectural and historical heritage of Krāslava District, what comes to mind first is that the district has the oldest wooden church preserved on its original site and still used by the congregation. This is Indrica Catholic Church (c. 1698). Secondly, there are outstanding masonry churches from the Baroque Age (Krāslava Catholic Church, 1756–1767; Dagda Catholic Church, 1768; Piedruja Catholic Church, 1759–1774). Thirdly, the Counts Plater resided in this part of southern Latgale for several centuries; thanks to them, Italian artists were invited to participate in major building projects of the 18th century. The periods of war and destruction have generally spared these lands; consequently, much has been preserved, and it is possible to appreciate authentic evidence of the activities of the artists of former times and the place of the monuments they created in the wider context of European art of that time. Nowadays, this is more than just the legacy of particular congregations; it is a national treasure, testifying to the co-existence of various denominations and to all the best that people could bestow upon their churches over the centuries.
Just like other parts of Latgale, Krāslava County has had religious sites of all the traditional denominations of Latvia: both Christian (Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox and Old Believer) and Jewish. In accordance with the approach taken in this series of books, the emphasis in this volume, as in previous ones, is on the appearance of the churches, noting their architectural and artistic qualities.
