Stanislaw Czerski (October 10, 1777 in

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

– April 30, 1833 in

Varniai Varniai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Varnē'') is a city in the Telšiai County, western Lithuania. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Medėninkā''). Etymology ''Medininkai'' or ''M ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

) was a Polish

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest,

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

, and translator. Czerski attended Polatsk Jesuit College. In 1794, he became a regular Jesuit, in 1807, a priest. He taught German language at Vitsebsk, Mahiliou,

Polatsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina, Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it ...

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

Jesuit colleges and Vilnius gymnasium. In 1814, he was a canon of Brest. Between 1819 and 1821, Czerski visited Paris, Germany, England, Italy for the scientific study tasks assigned by

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

. In 1814, he became a canon of

and in 1825, he was a priest in Salantai. It was here where he established wooden engraving workshop for making the maps and artworking the books. In 1822 he engraved Vilnius map in copper according to Georg Braun's Atlas, made in 1550, two vignettes for the Latin–Polish dictionary. He participated in the Uprising of 1831 and was arrested. Czerski wrote in Polish and Latin. He translated fables by Phaedrus into Polish and '' Ode to God'' by Gavrila Derzhavin into Latin
Carmen de Deo
in 1815), published the history of the land of

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

with engraved maps of Samogitian episcopate and Salantai parish, created Latin-Polish dictionary, wrote about lexicography issues.

References

Stanislovas Čerskis’ Journey Across Western Europe Between 1819 And 1821 (Summary)

Karol Hoffman: Krajoznawcy polscy
* ''Stanislovas Čerskis'', in Lietuvių literatūros enciklopedija
J. Giżycki: Materyały do dziejów Akademii Połockiej i szkół od niej zależnych

Rys dziejów literatury polskiej
(tom. 5, p. 244; 1878) -- short biography and list of works of Stanisław Czerski, on Google Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Czerski, Stanislaw 1777 births 1833 deaths 18th-century Lithuanian Jesuits Polish translators 19th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests Jesuit College in Polotsk alumni