Editing Slonim

{{Short description|Town in Grodno Region, Belarus}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Slonim
|native_name = {{native name|be|Слонім}}<br />{{native name|ru|Слоним}}
|other_name         = 
|settlement_type    = [[List of cities and largest towns in Belarus|Town]]
|image_skyline      = St Andrew's Church, Slonim.jpg
|image_caption      = [[St Andrew's Church, Slonim|St Andrew's Church]]
|imagesize          = 250px
|image_flag         = Flag of Słonim.svg
|image_shield       = Coat of Arms of Słonim, Belarus.svg
|flag_size          = 150
|shield_size        = 75
|image_map          =
|pushpin_map        = Belarus
|map_caption        = Location of Slonim, shown within [[Grodno Region]]
| subdivision_type  = Country
| subdivision_name  = [[Belarus]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Belarus|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Grodno Region]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Belarus|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Slonim District]]
|leader_title       = Mayor
|leader_name        = Aleh Tarhonsky
|established_title  = Founded
|established_date   = 1036
|established_title2 = Town rights
|established_date2  = 1532
|area_magnitude     =
|area_total_km2     =
|area_land_km2      =
|area_water_km2     =
|population_as_of   = 2025
|population_footnotes = <ref name="pop">{{cite web|url=https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_148168/|title=Численность населения на 1 января 2025 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2024 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250329210112/https://www.belstat.gov.by/ofitsialnaya-statistika/solialnaya-sfera/naselenie-i-migratsiya/naselenie/statisticheskie-izdaniya/index_148168/|archive-date=29 March 2025|website=belsat.gov.by|access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref>
|population_total   = 48,402
|population_metro   =
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone           = [[Moscow Time|MSK]]
|utc_offset         = +3
|timezone_DST       =
|utc_offset_DST     =
|coordinates        = {{coord|53|05|N|25|19|E|region:BY|display=inline}}
|elevation_m        = 156 
|postal_code_type   = Postal code
|postal_code        = 231800
|area_code          = +375 1562
|blank_name         = License plate 
|blank_info         = 4
|website            = [http://www.slonim.grodno-region.by/en/ Official website]
|footnotes          =
}}

'''Slonim'''{{efn|{{langx|be|Слонім}}; {{langx|ru|Слоним}}; {{langx|lt|Slanimas}}; {{langx|lv|Sloņima}}; {{langx|pl|Słonim}}; {{langx|yi|סלאָנים}}.}} is a town in [[Grodno Region]], in western [[Belarus]]. It serves as the administrative center of [[Slonim District]].<ref name="pop"/> It is located at the junction of the [[Shchara]] and [[Isa (river)|Isa]] rivers, {{convert|143|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Grodno]]. As of 2025, it has a population of 48,402.<ref name="pop"/>

==Etymology and historical names==
Slonim has been known by several versions of its name as spoken by speakers of various languages: Сло́нім ([[Belarusian language| Belarusian]]), Słonim ([[Polish language |Polish]]), Сло́ним ([[Russian language |Russian]]). Slonim was first mentioned by scribes in chronicles in 1252 as ''Uslonim'' and in 1255 as ''Vslonim''. According to one account (which is also considered by some to be an official one), the name of the city originates from the Slavic word ''zaslona'' (a screen<ref>
{{langx |ru| заслон}}; {{langx |pl| zasłona}}
</ref>),
implying that the city once functioned as an outpost at the southern border of the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. Another version, proposed by Jazep Stabroŭski, states that "Slonim" derives from 'Užslenimas',{{cn|date=December 2023}} which in [[Lithuanian language | Lithuanian]] means "beyond the valley".

==History==
[[File:1501._Roman_Catholic_churches_within_the_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania,_where_the_priests_must_know_the_Lithuanian_language.svg|left|thumb|300x300px|Slonim was the location of one of many Roman [[Catholic churches]] where the priests had to know the [[Lithuanian language]] according to the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]] [[Alexander Jagiellon]] in 1501]]

=== Middle Ages ===
The earliest record is of a wooden fort on the left bank of the [[Shchara River|Shchara river]] in the 11th century, although there may have been earlier settlement.

The area was disputed between the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and [[Kievan Rus']] in early history and it changed hands several times. In 1040, the Kievans won control of the area after a battle but lost Slonim to the Lithuanians in 1103. The [[Ruthenians]] retook the area early in the 13th century but were expelled by a [[Tatars|Tatar]] invasion in 1241 and the town was pillaged. When, later in the year, the Tatars withdrew, Slonim became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania once again, in [[Polish–Lithuanian union|personal union]] with the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] after the [[Union of Krewo]] of 1385.

===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.

===Late modern period===
[[Image:Słonim, Rynak, Bernardynski. Слонім, Рынак, Бэрнардынскі (1930-39).jpg|thumb|left|Polish Słonim in the 1930s, market at Bernardyńska Street before [[World War II]]]]
The [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] was dismantled in [[Partitions of Poland|a series of three "partitions"]] in the second half of the 18th century and divided among its neighbours, [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Austria]] and [[Russian Empire]] which took the largest portion of the territory. Slonim was in the area annexed by Russia in 1795. Administratively it was part of the Slonim Governorate until 1797, [[Vilna Governorate]] until 1801 and [[Grodno Governorate]] until [[World War I]]. In 1897 it was the fourth largest city of the governorate after the leading cities of [[Białystok]], [[Grodno]] and [[Brest, Belarus|Brześć]].
[[File:Słonim, Bernardynskaja. Слонім, Бэрнардынская (V. Pikiel, 1931).jpg|thumb|Pre-war Polish county office]]
Russian control lasted until 1915, when the German army captured the town. After the [[First World War]], the Slonim area was disputed between the [[Soviet Union]] and the newly recreated state of [[Poland]]. The town suffered badly in the [[Polish-Soviet war of 1920]]. It was ceded by the Bolsheviks to Poland in the 1921 [[Peace of Riga]] and became a part of [[Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–39)|Nowogródek Voivodeship]] of the [[Second Polish Republic]].

Slonim was one of the many towns in Poland that had a significant Jewish population. The imposing Great Synagogue, built in 1642, survived the destruction and brutal Nazi liquidation of the [[Słonim Ghetto]] with 10,000 Jews massacred in 1942 alone. The 10 small synagogues around the Great Synagogue called Stiblach did not survive.

===World War II and the post-war period===
[[File:אנדרטת סלונים.jpg|thumb|A monument in memory of the Jews of Slonim who were murdered in the Holocaust. In [[Kiryat Shaul cemetery]] in [[Tel Aviv]]]]
{{main|Słonim Ghetto}}
[[File:Słonim Ghetto burning (1942-06-29).jpg|thumb|[[Słonim Ghetto]] burning in 1942 during the Jewish revolt during German [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupation of Poland]]]]
In 1939, the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] between [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] resulted in the [[invasion of Poland]] by the two powers and its division between them. Slonim was in the area designated by the Pact to fall within the Soviet sphere of influence. The Soviets placed that area within the [[Byelorussian SSR]]. Two years later, Germany invaded the Soviets ([[Operation Barbarossa]]) and Slonim was captured. The Słonim Jews were herded into the [[Słonim Ghetto]] set up at the Na Wyspie neighbourhood across the bridge on the Szczara River. Soon thereafter, 70% of Slonim's Jews had been killed by the ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'',<ref name=ledger>{{cite web |last=Lichtenstein |first=Kalman |title=The Ledger of Slonim |publisher=Joanne Saltman |year=1998 |url=http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/slonim/Slonim_Ledger.htm |access-date=8 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807085152/http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/slonim/Slonim_Ledger.htm |archive-date=7 August 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> including 9,000 on 14 November 1941. The second mass murder of 8,000 Jews took place in 1942. In 1944, on the insistence of [[Joseph Stalin]] [[Yalta Conference|in Yalta]] the Soviet Union retained possession of the eastern parts of pre-war Poland including Słonim, as agreed between the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. The [[Polish population transfers (1944–46)|Polish population was forcibly resettled]] to new post-war Polish boundaries before the end of 1946.<ref name="gilbert">{{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Gilbert  |title=The Holocaust |publisher=Fontana Press |year=1986 |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRJnAAAAMAAJ&q=Slonim  |isbn=0-00-637194-9 |pages=184, 403}}</ref>

After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], Slonim became part of an independent state of [[Belarus]].

In 2019 a Soviet-era statue of [[Vladimir Lenin]] in the city center was replaced with a new monument of [[Lew Sapieha]].<ref name=HI/>

===Historic population===
The population of Slonim fluctuated, influenced by local prosperity and wars {1883, 21,110; 1897 15,893}. Jewish settlement in Slonim appears to have started in 1388, following encouragement from the Lithuanian authorities. They were credited with the development of local commerce in the 15th century, nonetheless, they were temporarily expelled by the Duchy in 1503. In the late 19th century, Slonim's Jewish population had risen to more than 10,000.<ref name=ledger/> The [[Slonim (Hasidic dynasty)|Slonimer Hasidic dynasty]] came from there. [[Michael Marks|Michael]] and Ephraim Marks (of [[Marks & Spencer]]) were born in Slonim.

The wealthiest family in Slonim before World War II were the Rabinowicz brothers, Vigdor and Yossel. Their parents were Dov-Ber and Rivka Rochel (née Kancepolski). After World War I, they entered the forestry business together with Yaakov Milikowski, and were known as the Rabmils.  They escaped the Nazi atrocities by flying to [[Mandatory Palestine]].

==Economy==
[[File:Road to Slonim, Belarus.jpg|thumb|Slonim skyline from the road to Baranavichy]]
Slonim's importance derives from the river, which is navigable and joins the Oginski canal, connecting the [[Neman River|Niemen]] with the [[Dnieper River|Dnieper]].

Slonim has varied food, consumer, and engineering industries. Corn, tar, and especially timber are exported. There is the Slonim artistic goods factory, a [[worsted]] factory and “Textilschik”, a paperboard factory, motor- and car-repair plants, a dry non-fat milk factory and meat processing plant. There are also flax preprocessing, feed mill and woodworking enterprises in the town.

The [[11th Guards Mechanized Brigade]], withdrawn from Germany in 1992, is stationed in the town.

==Media==
Slonim's biggest newspaper is the independent ''Gazeta Slonimskaya'' (Газета Слонімская). Founded in 1997, it is a weekly newspaper with a circulation over 5,000 copies. It is published every Wednesday, and contains local and regional news, sections on sport, culture and lifestyle, and local advertising. It is currently 40 pages, plus an additional weekly 8-page supplement called Otdushina (Отдушина), focusing on youth, culture and religious affairs. The newspaper is written in both [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]].<ref>{{Cite web
  | title = Контакт
  | date = 30 November 2008
  | url = http://www.gs.by/ru/48/510/
  | access-date = 24 October 2009
  | archive-date = 23 March 2016
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160323162209/http://www.gs.by/ru/48/510
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

An earlier ''Gazeta Slonimskaya'' was originally published in 1938 and 1939, at that time in [[Polish language|Polish]].<ref>{{Cite web
  | title = История газеты
  | date = 28 November 2008
  | url = http://www.gs.by/ru/1/530/
  | access-date = 24 October 2009 }}</ref>

Another local newspaper is ''Slonimski Vesnik''. Being a state owned newspaper, it is run and censored by local authorities. ''Slonimski Vesnik'' is published three times a week and has a circulation of around 3,000 copies.

==Transport and infrastructure==
Slonim has road-links with Baranovichi, Ivatsevichi, [[Ruzhany]], Volkovysk, and Lida. There are around a dozen bus routes in Slonim and half a dozen of mini-bus routes. Taxi services are widely available. Slonim is on the railway line between [[Baranavichy]] and [[Vaukavysk]].

==Notable buildings==
{{multiple image |align=right |perrow=2 |total_width=380 |header=Historic sights of Slonim (examples)
| image1=Краявіды Слоніма (15).jpg
| image2=Г. Слонім - Ансамбаль Андрэеўскага касьцёлу PICT3117.jpg
| image3=Краявіды Слоніма (19).jpg
| image4=Slonim339.JPG
| image5=Synagogue, Slonim.jpg
| image6=Сядзіба Пуслоўскіх у Альбярціне, фасад.jpg
| footer=From top, left to right: Church of the Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew church, Holy Trinity church, Church of the Transfiguration, [[Slonim Synagogue|The Great Synagogue of Slonim]], Puslouski Palace
}}
* [[Orthodox church (building)|Orthodox church]] of the [[Holy Trinity]] (former Catholic church of the Holy Trinity, Baroque)
* [[Convent]] of the [[Benedictine]]s
* [[Chapel]] of [[St. Dominick]]
* [[St Andrew's Church, Slonim|St Andrew's Church]] ([[Baroque architecture|Baroque]])
* Catholic church of the [[Immaculate Conception]] of Blessed [[Virgin Mary]] and the convent of [[Cistercians|Bernardine]]
* Orthodox church of [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]] (former Catholic church), Baroque, dating back to the 17th century
* The [[Slonim Synagogue|Great Synagogue of Slonim]], building of a former major [[synagogue]] of a large [[Belarusian Jews|Jewish]] community that used to live in Slonim before the [[Second World War]]. The building is in a dilapidated condition. It is listed by the private [[World Monuments Fund]] as their top priority site of Jewish interest in Eastern Europe that requires restoration. The building was left untouched by the German [[Luftwaffe]] during [[World War II]], but it has subsequently deteriorated and is now in urgent need of protection and restoration.<ref>{{cite web| title =Jews of Belarus Move to Save Their Past| publisher =Joanne Saltman| year =1998| url =http://shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/slonim/jews_of_belarus_move_to_save_the.htm| access-date =11 September 2007| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070807092406/http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/slonim/jews_of_belarus_move_to_save_the.htm| archive-date =7 August 2007| url-status =dead| df =dmy-all}}</ref>  British TV personality [[Natasha Kaplinsky]] was the subject of one of a series of BBC television programmes, ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)|Who Do You Think You Are?]]''. Kaplinsky visited the synagogue, it having been the place of worship of her great-grandparents. Her cousin sang a lament in Hebrew in the synagogue.<ref>{{cite news|last= Wollaston|first= Sam|url= https://www.theguardian.com/tv_and_radio/story/0,,2164118,00.html|title= Last night's TV|work= The Guardian|date= 7 September 2007|access-date= 7 September 2007 | location=London}}</ref>

Slonim has also a theatre and a museum of regional studies, as well as a medical school. There is a new recreation area development in north-east Slonim called Enka. The main sports are: running, gymnastics, football and ice hockey. The telecommunication guyed mast, {{convert|350|m|ft}} tall, for FM-/TV-broadcasting is located at Novaya Strazha ({{coord|53|03|53|N|25|28|31|E}}).
Northeast of Slonim, there is a [[CHAYKA]]-transmitter.

== Notable people ==

* [[Samuel Hirszhorn]] (1876–1942), Polish-Jewish writer, journalist, and politician, born in Slonim
* [[Haim Lensky]] (1905–1943), Russian-Jewish poet<ref name="Lapidus">{{cite book|last=Lapidus|first=Rina|others=Jonathan Chipman (trans.)|title=Between Snow and Desert Heat: Russian Influences on Hebrew Literature, 1870–1970|publisher=Hebrew Union College Press|location=Cincinnati|year=2003|pages=95|isbn=0-87820-451-2}}</ref>
* [[Michael Marks]] (1859–1907), Jewish businessman and entrepreneur, and co-founder of the British retail chain [[Marks & Spencer]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michael Marks|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/BUmarks.htm|access-date=2022-01-16|website=Spartacus Educational|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Miriam Raskin]] (1889–1973), Yiddish writer, born in Slonim.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yaros |first=Laura |date=February 27, 2009 |title=Miriam Raskin |url=http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/raskin-miriam |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Anshe Slonim Synagogue]] on the [[Lower East Side]] of [[Manhattan]], New York

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Cholawski, Shalom. '''Slonim''' in ''[[Encyclopaedia of the Holocaust]]'' vol. 4, pp.&nbsp;1363–1364. Map.

==External links==
{{commons category|Slonim}}
* [http://ww.gs.by Gazeta Slonimskaya on the web]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://radzima.org/eng/town/slonim.html Photos on Radzima.org]
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Slonim |year=1905 |short=x}}
* {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|1949716|Slonim, Belarus}}

{{coord|53|05|N|25|19|E|region:BY_type:city|display=title}}
{{Grodno Region}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Slonim| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Grodno region]]
[[Category:Slonim district]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Belarus]]
[[Category:Populated places in Belarus]]