Communities and Their Temples: Orthodox, Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic: Religious Delimitations in the Historical Topography of Słuck

Abstract

The article analyses the religious topography of Słuck (today, Sluck in Belarus). Słuck was an important hub of Orthodoxy and Protestantism in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; moreover, 38 percent of its population was Jewish. Detailed analysis of legal documents and urban inventories showed that there were areas within the town bounds which were reserved for the Christian communities active there. The spatial balance was upset in the former half of the eighteenth century, with Catholic orders brought into the town. The Jews were the only group that was legally barred from choosing a place to reside. The municipal authorities endeavoured to restrict the Jewish settlement to one street. Members of Jewish financial elite were the only ones to succeed in crossing the legal boundaries and settle down at the ‘Christian’ streets ofSłuck.