Eugeniusz Rydz

The geography of religion at the Słupsk geographical centre

This study is an attempt to present the achievements of the Słupsk Geographical Centre in the field of the geography of religion. The first part of the publication deals with the state and perspectives of research together with the motives for the undertaking of the research. On the other hand, the main part of the study presents the scientific and teaching achievements of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography and Tourism in the field of the geography of religion. As part of the scientific achievements, works devoted to the worship of the Mother of God, calvaries, and the sacred space of settlement units in Pomerania were indicated. Moreover, works on the functioning of new dioceses in Pomerania were presented. The teaching achievements were also discussed, including the prepared master’s and bachelor’s theses. They mainly concerned monographic studies of parishes in Kashubia and presented their calvaries.

Roman Catholic parish churches in the sacred space of Slupsk

This paper presents the changes that took place after World War II in the sacred space of Slupsk on the example of the Roman Catholic parish churches. The origins of the Catholic Church in the Middle Pomerania region, including Slupsk, date back to the thousandth year. After a period of turbulent changes in the organization of the administrative structure of the church and the introduction of the Reformation, Catholicism in Pomerania again began to revive only in the 19 th and early 2 0th centuries. After World War II, as a result of an influx of Polish population to Pomerania, mostly Roman Catholics, the net of parish churches was revived. On the one hand, some churches were taken from the Germans, on the other new religious buildings were built. Settlement of Slupsk with immigrant population resulted, in the initial period, in some integration problems arising from different cultural, moral or social backgrounds, which led to the creation of a kind of a melting pot of different cultures and religions. The Roman Catholic Church mentioned in the article not only integrated the population, but also helped the communities arriving from the eastern borderlands to settle down.

The study shows that in Slupsk in the late 50s there were three parishes, which focused a total of approximately 36.0 thousand followers. A significant event not only for the creation of new parishes in Slupsk, but for the whole Pomerania, was the establishment of new dioceses in 1973, including the Koszalin-Kolobrzeg Diocese. The normalization of relations between the State and the Church encouraged the establishment of new parishes. At the end of 1987, the sacred space of Slupsk included five parishes. Until 1989 in Slupsk operated five parishes, including one holding a new religious building. However, only in the years 1990 – 1995 four new parishes, including the military one, were erected. It should be emphasized that the sacred space of Slupsk, which is associated primarily with the development of the network of the parish, was determined by the increase in the number of residents. Church authorities paid particular attention to ensure that new churches are built in new housing estates.