Editing Slonim (section)

===Early modern period===
In 1532 King [[Sigismund I of Poland]] granted Slonim [[town rights]].<ref>[[Wanda Rewieńska]], ''Miasta i miasteczka magdeburskie w woj. wileńskim i nowogródzkim'', Lida, 1938, p. 11 (in Polish)</ref> In 1558, King [[Sigismund II Augustus]], in a privilege issued in [[Vilnius|Wilno]] (now Vilnius), established two two-week [[fair]]s.

In 1569, the [[Polish–Lithuanian union]] was transformed into a single state and Słonim became an important regional centre within the newly established [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. Administratively it was part of the [[Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795)|Nowogródek Voivodeship]]. Thanks to the efforts of nobleman, statesman and Słonim [[starost]] [[Lew Sapieha]], King [[Sigismund III Vasa]] renewed the town rights of Słonim and granted the city coat of arms,<ref name=HI>{{cite web|url=https://historykon.pl/nowe/pomnik-sapiehy-stanal-w-slonimie|title=Pomnik Sapiehy stanął w Słonimie|website=Historykon|access-date=September 30, 2019|language=pl}}</ref> which included the [[Lis coat of arms]] of Sapieha. Also thanks to Lew Sapieha, from 1631 to 1685 the city flourished as the seat of the Lithuanian [[diet (assembly)|diet]].<ref name=HI/>
[[File:Słonim, Opernaja. Слонім, Опэрная (1800).jpg|thumb|The Ogiński Theater around 1800]]
The wars had damaged Slonim, but in the 18th century, a local landowner, [[Michał Kazimierz Ogiński|count Ogiński]], encouraged the recovery of the area; a canal was dug to connect the [[Shchara River|Shchara]] with the [[Dnieper River|Dnieper]] river, now known as the [[Oginski Canal]]. Ogiński also built a greater complex, combining an opera theater, a school of music and a school of ballet, and a printing house.