Byaroza or Biaroza (; ), formerly Byaroza-Kartuzskaya, is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Byaroza District. It has a population of 31,000 (1995). History The village of Biaroza (meaning birch) was first mentioned in 1477 as part of the Slonim paviet. In the 15th century, the village probably received the town charter. Between 1538 and 1600 it was an important centre of Calvinism. Later the town became the private property of the Radziwiłł family. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth In the 17th century, the village belonged to Sapieha family, who founded a fortified monastery and a palace here. In 1648, the monastery was presented to the Carthusian monks. They came from the Italian town of Treviso and settled here. In gratitude for this deed, Pope Alexander VII granted the title of a prince to Lew Sapieha. The monastery was also expanded and became one of the biggest charterhouses (Carthusian monasteries) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Carthusian order gave its name to the second part of the town's name in the form in which it has been used till late 1940s: Biaroza-Kartuzskaya (Polish: Bereza Kartuska). During the Great Northern War, the monastery housed a conference held by King Augustus II of Poland and Peter I of Russia. In 1706, the fortified monastery was put under siege and then taken by assault and looted by the forces of Charles XII of Sweden. Two years later, the Swedish forces looted the area again, which resulted in almost total depopulation of the town. It was also damaged by the armies of Alexander Suvorov in 1772, during the Partitions of Poland. Under Russian rule After the partitions, the town and the monastery were annexed by Russia in 1795. After the November Uprising of 1831 the town was captured by the Russian armies and then looted. The monastery was closed by tsarist authorities and in 1866, after the January Uprising, the whole complex was partially demolished, and the bricks were used for construction of a Russian prison and barracks nearby. The baroque church was destroyed in 1868. After the uprising, the town became a part of the so-called Pale of settlement and was repopulated with Jews expelled from other areas of the Russian Empire. By the 20th century, they constituted more than 70% of the city's inhabitants. In 1842, a new road was opened between Moscow and Warsaw and passed