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The History Order of Saint Stanislas
The Order of St Stanislas was founded by
Stanislas II Augustus Poniatowski, the last king of Poland, in 1765 on the eve of the Feast of St Stanislas, Bishop, Martyr
and Patron Saint of Poland. The Order ranked in Poland second only to the
Order of the White Eagle.
On the 7 May 1765, King
Stanislas II Augustus Poniatowski founded the Order of the Knights of Saint
Stanislus, Bishop and Martyr. The Order was raised to do honour to his patron
saint and to give conspicuous recognition to knights who served the monarch.
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. After the downfall of the
November Uprising, the order was added to the awards system of the
Russian Empire in
1832, where it remained until
1917. In
1918 Poland regained its independence as the
Second Polish Republic, the order was not renewed and replaced by the
Order of Polonia Restituta.
The Order of St. Stanislas was re-established by
the President of the Polish Government in Exile, Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki. The
Order of St. Stanislas was reintroduced in Poland 1990 after the fall of the
communist government.
The original design of the badge was a red
enamelled eight-pointed Polish cross superimposed on a white Polish eagle with a
plaque in the centre depicting Saint Stanislaus in full bishop's regalia. The
design was later altered to a red, eight-pointed Polish cross with white eagles
between the arms of the cross and the image of Saint Stanislaus depicted in a
circular plaque in the centre of the cross. The ribbon for the Order was red
with a white border.
The motto of the Order is : "Praemiando Incitat" (be inspired by reward)
On the 9 June 1979, the Polish Government (In
Exile) of President Sokolnicki re-established the Order of Saint Stanislas to
commemorate the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Stanislas of
Szczepanow, placing it third in order of precedence after the Order of the White
Eagle and the Order of Military Virtue, and before the Order of Polonia
Restitutia. It was re-established in five classes and was used to a very great
extent as a distinctive reward for those who had served against the might of
communism. A considerable number of very well known members of the western
world; and senior military officers were awarded this decoration, which had been
re-established in five classes. The design of the badge was virtually the same
as the early Polish version except that the centrepiece featured a corona civica
encircling an upraised crusaders sword, between the monogram SS - signifing
victory over totalitarism. On the 15 September 1990, the Polish Government
(In Exile) of President Sokolnicki drew up a constitution separating the Order
of Saint Stanislas from the patrimony of the Polish Government (In Exile)
which was signed by Sokolnicki and all members of his government. The Order was
then given an independent character as a charitable order of chivalry, and is
now established worldwide and has been adopted the second highest award in the
Ukraine national honours list.
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