Sielec

 

 

 

Sielec, a town on the river Jasiodla, at the mouth of the Bakshty river, district of Pruzhany, some 27or 28 verst east of Pruzhany, 170 verst from Grodno, next to a highway leading from Pruzhany to Slonim, is located in the 1st precinct of the Polish township of Siedlec.  In the year 1878 the town counted 2,306 inhabitants (1,126 male and 1,180 female).  Of those 932 were Jews.  It has a governing body and a political (police) precinct comprising six townships:  sielec, noskovsky, rudnicky, kotrzansky, dobuchynsky (Ogrodnik) and nikitynsky (Smolan). The town has its own municipal government, a Russian Orthodox church, a catholic chapel belonging to the Sehnevicz parish, formerly part of the parish of the Pruzhany deanery. There is a Jewish house of prayer (synagogue)?, a public school and a hospital. 

 

The township is located on a flat stretch of unforested land, and is covered by black soil and clay.  At one time this area belonged to the king. It was bequeathed in the year 1570 by King Zygmont August to Anne of the Radzivil of Kishchyn, in the Vilno (district)?, who upon her marriage to Krzyshtof Sadovsky signed it over to him.  The town was returned to the Radziwil family, who established here a protestant parish.   In 1603 Laurentius Petrovius became the minister of the newly established parish.  On May 10th, 1626, a (convocation)? was signed in Orly by, by a Sielec priest, Lukash Kozminusz sent here by a priest Adam Raszecky, (to replace the superintendent of Zmujdziec)?  According to manuscripts dating from 1704, the priest lives off the soil, the area covering two villages.

 

In 1733 part of the Oszmiansky confederation, established on behalf of Stanislaw Leszczynsky, to form an opposition to August III, experienced a serious setback.  On February 9, 1839 Alexander Okinczyc was born here.  In 1859 the town ownership was transferred to Count Zamoysky.  In the year 1879 Sielec and Jundzilovicho (part of the Slonim district), 23,470 (dz) in area, were purchased by Golcz. Some of the Sielec properties are 7000 (dz) in area, of this 5000 (dz) is forested.  The town also has two distilleries, two brick yards and a brewery.  The Orthodox deanery of Sielec comprises 8 parishes, has 8 parish and 2 affiliate churches, 2 cemetary chapels, and 23,465 parishoners.