Vyalikaya Byerastavitsa is an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

in Grodno Region,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It serves as the administrative center of Byerastavitsa District. It is located near the city of

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. As of 2025, it has a population of 5,647.

History

It was granted by King

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon (; ; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1492 and King of Poland from 1501 until his death in 1506. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Alexander was el ...

to the

Chodkiewicz The House of Chodkiewicz (; ) was one of the most influential Szlachta, noble families of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian descent within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th century.Chester S. L. D ...

family. It was a

private town Private towns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others. Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, R ...

of the Chodkiewicz,

Mniszech The House of Mniszech (plural: Mniszchowie, Polish surname#Feminine forms, historical feminine forms: Mniszchówna (unmarried), Mniszchowa (married or widow)) was a Polish magnate and szlachta, noble family bearing the Mniszech Coat of Arms. No ...

Potocki The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...

and Kossakowski families, administratively located in the Grodno County in the

Troki Voivodeship Trakai Voivodeship, Trakai Palatinate, or Troki Voivodeship (, , ), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1413 until 1795. History Trakai Voivodeship together with Vilnius Voivodeship was ...

of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. In the interwar period, Brzostowica Wielka, as it was known in Polish, was administratively located in the Grodno County in the Białystok Voivodeship of Poland. In the 1921 census, 51.4% people declared Jewish nationality, 43.5% declared

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

nationality and 5.1% declared Belarusian nationality. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the town was first occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941, then by Nazi Germany until 1944, and re-occupied by the Soviet Union afterwards.

Demographics

Notable people

Józef Kowalewski Józef Kowalewski (; 9 January 1801 – 7 November 1878) was a Polish orientalist. He was the founder of the Philomatic Association. In 1824, he was convicted by the Russian authorities for pro-independence Polish activity and exiled into Russi ...

(1801–1878), Polish orientalist, co-founder of the

Philomatic Association The Philomaths, or Philomath Society ( or ''Towarzystwo Filomatów'', or ''Filomatų draugija''; from the Greek φιλομαθεῖς "lovers of knowledge"), was a secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the Imperial Uni ...

Andrzej Poczobut Andrzej Poczobut ( ''Andrej (Andžej) Pačobut'', born 16 April 1973 in Vyalikaya Byerastavitsa) is a Polish and Belarusian journalist, opposition figure, activist of the Polish minority in Belarus and political prisoner. A correspondent for ...

(born 1973), journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus

Notes

References

Urban-type settlements in Belarus Populated places in Grodno region Byerastavitsa district {{Belarus-geo-stub