Slizienių giminės knygos ir knygų rinkiniai XIX amžiuje

ENAncestral estates of Silzicniai (Sliziens family) were scattered in the lands of modern Belarus and Lithuania, and by the 19th century have mainly centered around several counties: Slonim, (Dziewiątkowicze), Novogrudok (Wolna, Bartniki) and Borisov (Msciz). At that time the estates stored rich collection of books and manuscripts. This fact is confirmed by the references in memoirs, participation in the subscription to the popular newspapers, magazines and books, the owners’ records of family members made in books, as well as by the extant index book of Alfredas Slizienis (Alfred Slizien) library in Dziewiątkowicze. The main sources on the history of book collections of Sliziens family are kept in the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno, National Library of Belarus, National Museum of History and Culture of Belarus and Slonim local historical museum. The first reliable information on collecting books in the family dates back to the second half of the 18th century. Copies of old editions bear the stamps and signatures of owners - Sofija Slizienienė (Zofia Slizien), Steponas Slizienis (Stefan Slizien), Rapolas Slizienis (Rafal Slizien), Teklė Slizienienė (Teklia Slizien). In the first half of the XIX century the ancestral library was significantly supplemented by Alfred Slizien, and later - by his descendants.According to information from the extant index book, in the 60 years of 19th century the Sliziens’ book collection in Dziewiątkowicze contained about a thousand of titles in almost two thousand volumes, dated back from the 16th century to the latest edition of the mid 19th century. The fiction in Polish and French dominated in the library, the books on history and law were also well presented, as well as books on other sciences, annual filings of periodicals were also kept in the library. According to the spirit of the times, the index book contained records on publications that reflected the current state of knowledge in various fields of practice - works on agriculture, use of forests, handicraft production, construction and architecture. The palace in Dziewiątkowicze has not survived. Books from the Sliziens’ library are stored in the collections of the National Library, the handwritten documents, some valuable brochures and books - in the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno. The fate of the book collections from other ancestral estates of the family requires additional investigations. The study and reconstruction of the book traditions of Sliziens confirm the noticeable trace left by representatives of this family in the cultural life of the lands of Belarus and Lithuania.