Słup. Słowiańska wertykalna instalacja kultowa

There are many similar local names in Poland, including rivers, for example: Słupia, Słubice, Słupca, Słupsk, Słup, Stołpie. What does the noun słup (literally: ‘a pole’) in its name mean? There are several theories that explain the name. The word is derived from the old-Slavic * stlpъ, originally meaning ‘that which is placed vertically, that which is put up’. It is a general Slavic concept: Cz. sloup, Rus. stolp, old-Rus. stъlpъ, S./Cr. stûp. Therefore, in addition to interpretations derived from the state infrastructure such as border posts and guard towers erected on mounds, or fishing devices, beaver farming, and the names of the rocks on which a stronghold was established, there is a hypothesis that derives the pole from the preChristian religious infrastructure. This interpretation was first proposed in 1926 by Mikołaj Rudnicki. Following Rudnicki’s findings, some authors still associate the name with cult poles, a phenomenon that refers to the Indo-European believes and myths about the world being founded on a pole as a support, with vertical symbolism and axis mundi. The author presents medieval linguistic material and archaeological material of Slavic cult sites, which may confirm the sacred meaning of the term słup. This function and symbolism of poles is also confirmed in some chronicle and archaeological data, with traces of poles identified as cult installations within the sacred space, e.g. the central pole (idol, totem, cult statue).