Byaroza monastery refers to the ruins of the former

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of the Holy Cross,Кляштар сьв. Крыжа
/ref> constructed in the seventeenth century in 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 ...

and today situated in

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 ...

Foundation

In the 17th century, the village of

Byaroza Byaroza (; ; also spelled ''Bereza''), formerly Byaroza-Kartuzskaya, is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Byaroza District. As of 2025, it has a population of 28,192. History The village of Biaroza ( ...

belonged to the

Sapieha The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk. Vernadsky, George. ...

, a powerful

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

family in the

, who founded a fortified monastery and a palace in the village. In 1648, the monastery was presented to the

monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

who came from the Italian town of

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

and settled in the monastery. The cornerstone of the monastery was laid in 1648 by the monastery's founder,

Kazimierz Leon Sapieha Kazimierz Leon Sapieha () (1609–1656) was a nobleman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Career He had various roles and titles, including Royal Secretary and Grand Writer of Lithuania from 1631, ...

, in the presence of bishop Andrej Hiembinski and the

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

of Rome, Jan de Torres. Historians state that the monastery's architect was

Giovanni Battista Gisleni Giovanni Battista Gisleni (1600 – 3 May 1672) was an Italian Baroque architect, stage designer, theater director, singer, and musician at the Polish-Lithuanian royal court. Gisleni was born and died in Rome. He served three Polish-Lithuanian ...

, who worked for 40 years in the eastern Commonwealth (now

). Kazimierz Leon Sapieha, the son of the Commonwealth

Lew Sapieha Lew Sapieha (; ; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Crown Chancellor in 1 ...

and member of the powerful

family, was the main sponsor of the project. The monastery was to be built on the place where a wooden cross was found in the forest. Therefore, the monastery was also named after the Holy Cross. The monastery was consecrated in 1666, but work on construction of the church continued until the 18th century. As a result, it became one of the most beautiful among the monastery churches of the Rhine province of the eastern Commonwealth (now

). The charterhouse was also expanded and became one of the biggest

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

in the

. The monastic order (the Carthusians) gave their name to the second part of the village's (which grew into a town) name (in Belarusian, the ''Бяроза-Картуская'', Biaroza Kartuskaja, in

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 ...

the ''Bereza Kartuska''). In addition, the monastery had large living premises, a pharmacy, a botanical garden, and an economic infrastructure. A palace of the

s was built close to the monastery. During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

, the monastery housed a conference held by King

August II of Poland Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

and Tsar

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

Economic activities of the monastery

During its 200-year-long existence the Byaroza monastery was the owner of a large territory. The main sources of the monastery's income were land operations and gifts of local

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

and magnates. The monastery acted as creditor, and monopolised the local trade of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

and

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

Monastery's degradation

In 1706, the fortified monastery was put under siege and then taken by assault and looted by the forces of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

. Two years later, Swedish forces again looted the area, which resulted in almost total depopulation of the town. It was also damaged by the armies of

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

in 1772, during the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. After the

and the annexation of

by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the number of monks shrank to six persons and the monastery's huge treasures were robbed. After the closure of Carthusian monasteries on the territory of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, the Biaroza monastery remained the last active monastery of the order on the territory of the former

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

. Russian authorities made efforts to close down the monastery of Biaroza. In 1823 the monks were claimed to have taken part in the

uprising Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

led by

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

thirty years earlier, but no evidence of this could be found. After the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

(1831), Russian authorities closed down the monastery. The monastery's infrastructure was given to the army. The city of Byaroza-Kartuskaya (Carthusian Byaroza) was renamed ''Byaroza-Kazionnaya'' (State-owned Byaroza).

After closure

The premises of the former monastery were used by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

ns as

casern A casern, also spelled cazern or caserne, is a military barracks in a garrison town.Les gens de guerre à Saint-Julien-du-Sault, J Crédé, Imprimerie Fostier, 1976 In French-speaking countries, a ''caserne de pompier'' is a fire station. In fo ...

es. After the next uprising in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1863) Russians started destroying the walls of the monastery and building casernes out of the monastery wall bricks. Poland gained independence after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and in the aftermath of the Polish-Soviet War (1919–1920) the territory of Belarus was split between Poland and the Soviet Union. In the 1930s the former Russian barracks were rebuilt by the

authorities and adapted into a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

for political prisoners. After the reunification of West Belarus and East Belarus within the framework of the Soviet Byelorussia, a Soviet military unit was placed within the walls of the monastery. This led to the further degradation of the site.

Modern state

At the beginning of the 1990s the monastery was placed on the list of the historic architectural heritage of

. There was a project of renovation and restoration of the Byaroza monastery, however so far little progress was made. As of 2015, the gates of the monastery, that appear on the coat of arms of Byaroza, are renovated, renovation of the monastery church is planned.

Gallery

Image:Biaroza Kartuskaja, Klaštarnaja. Бяроза Картуская, Кляштарная (XVIII).jpg, Monastery in 18th century File:Biaroza Kartuskaja, Klaštarnaja. Бяроза Картуская, Кляштарная (1925) (2).jpg, Byaroza monastery in early 20th century File:BiarozaKlastarRasiejskijaKazarmy.JPG,

n barracks built of red monastery brick File:BiarozaKlastar1.JPG, Monastery gate - also to be found on the modern city coat of arms of

File:BiarozaKlastar2.JPG, Byaroza monastery today

References

External links

Photographs of the monasteryДа 520 годдзя Бярозы
(in Belarusian)
История возникновения Берёзовского кляштора картузов
(in Russian)
Photos on radzima.org
{{coord, 52, 31, 55, N, 24, 57, 33, E, region:BY_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Christian monasteries established in the 17th century 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Belarus 17th-century establishments in Belarus 19th-century disestablishments in Belarus Religious organizations established in the 1640s Carthusian monasteries in Belarus Christian monasteries in Belarus Ruins in Belarus Baroque architecture in Belarus Byaroza 1648 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Sapieha family Monasteries used as prisons