Slutsk

Slutsk (officially transliterated as Sluck, Belarusian: Слуцк; Russian: Слуцк; Polish: Słuck, Lithuanian: Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק Slutsk) is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River 105 km (65 mi) south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400.[2] Slutsk is the administrative center of Slutsk District.

This article is about the city in Belarus. For the football club of this city, see FC Slutsk. For the Russian town known as Slutsk between 1918 and 1944, see Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg.
Slutsk

Слуцк
City
City Hall of Slutsk
Flag
Coat of arms
Slutsk
Location of Slutsk
Coordinates: 53°02′N 27°34′E
Country Belarus
RegionMinsk Region
DistrictsSlutsk District
Founded1116
Area
 • Total24.6 km2 (9.5 sq mi)
Elevation
250 m (820 ft)
Population
 (2009)
 • Total61,444
 • Density2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
 [1]
Time zoneUTC+03:00 (FET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (FET)
Postal code
223610
Area code(s)+375 1795
License plate5
WebsiteOfficial website
Cinema-Theatre "Belarus"

Geography

The city is situated in the south-west of its Region, 26 km (16 mi) north of Soligorsk.

History

Slutsk was first mentioned in writing in 1116. It was part of the Principality of Turov and Pinsk, but in 1160 it became the capital of a separate principality. From 1320–1330 it was part of the domain of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Later it was owned by the Olelkovich and Radziwiłł families, which transformed it into a center of the Polish Reformed Church with a gymnasium and a strong fortress.

Following the 17th century the city became famous for its manufactories of kontusz belts, some of the most expensive and luxurious pieces of garment of the szlachta. Because of the popularity of the cloths made here, belts worn over the żupan were often called of Slutsk despite their real place of origin.

Slutsk was part of Russian Empire after Second Partition of Poland in 1793. It was occupied by Germany in 1918 and by Poland between 1919 and 1920 during Polish Soviet War. In 1920 it was the centre of a major anti-bolshevik uprising known as the Slutsk defence action.

Until World War II and the Slutsk Affair the city was predominantly Jewish, now the population includes no more than 100 Jews. Slutsk was occupied by the German Army on 26 June 1941 and placed under the administration of Reichskommissariat Ostland. The period of German occupation ended on 30 June 1944, when troops of the 1st Belorussian Front recaptured the town during the Minsk Offensive of the Red Army.

Jewish community

The first indication of Jews in Slutsk is from 1583 when the city was part of Lithuania.[3] Formal recognition came in 1601. By 1623, Jews owned 16 homes. In 1691, Slutsk became one of the five leading communities of area of Lithuania.[3] By 1750 there were 1,593 Jews. Although this number represented a third of the cities population, 75% of the town's merchants were Jews, and a similar proportion accounted for Jewish ownership and merchandizing of alcohol.[3] After annexation by Russia in 1793, growth of the city slowed, in part due to it being bypassed by the railroad. By 1897 the Jewish community numbered 10,264 inhabitants, or 77% of the city population.[3] They played a central role in the cities markets, particularly in agricultural produce.

Slutsk was not insignificant in terms of Torah study. Among the rabbinic figures who served there were Yehudah Leib Pohovitser, Chayim ha-Kohen Rapoport, Yosef Dov Ber Soloveichik (1865–1874), and Isser Zalman Meltzer.[3] The famous Slutsk-Kletsk Yeshiva was found in Slutsk in 1883 by Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky. Another outstanding scholar of learning in the Talmud and Torah who was also a Hebrew poet and became a Hebrew educator in the United States was Ephraim Eliezer Lisitzky, who was born and grew to his teens in Slutsk before emigrating to the U.S. According to legend the Baal Shem Tov visited Slutsk in 1733 at the invitation of Shmuel Ickowicz.[3] Despite this, the town was known for its anti-hasidic misnagdim. The Haskalah and modern Jewish political parties also were represented among the population.[3]

People

Twin towns — sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Belarus

Slutsk is twinned with:[4]

gollark: *truffles aren't rare*
gollark: I expect chances to be *slightly* better this month at least.
gollark: Stupid slightly annoying CB requiring goals...
gollark: I should really work on that...
gollark: Er, three.

See also

References
  1. "World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 2013-01-11.
  2. (in Russian) 2010 Belarus population statistics Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine (RAR file format)
  3. Adam Teller, "Slutsk," YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, (19 October 2010), accessed 25 January 2015.
  4. "Внешнеэкономическая деятельность". slutsk.minsk-region.by (in Russian). Slutsk. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  • Slutsk train station
  • Slutsk bus depot in the 1920s
  • Slutsk Homeland Museum
  • Commercial college
  • Painting of the Slutsk Defence Action
  • Calvinist Church and high school
  • Site of the Slutstk Ghetto (today a playground and park)
  • Slutsk high school
  • The high school, "The oldest school in Slutsk"
  • Native Belarusian man
  • Slutsk family
  • Studying Talmud in Slutsk
  • The Slutsk River

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