18th century

15/03/2013 13:03

Population - 3192 people
Different buildings - 21
Wooden buildings- 602
Cloisters - 7
Temples - 7

The Northern war of Rzecz Pospolita and Russia against Sweden hampered the city development (1700-1721). Foodstuffs storehouses for the provision of the Russian army were organised in Brest-Litovsk. Later on the Swedes were occupying the city during several years. The city was getting poor and losing its past importance. Only due to the activity of the district and province administrative and judicial authorities in Brest the city was able to keep its autonomy.

Industrial production began to develop in Brest in the middle of the 18th century. The first royal cloth manufacture in Belarus was opened in Brest (1770-1780). It had 7 looms and 12 spinning wheels and employed 20 people. The creation of the manufacture was due to King of Rzecz Pospolita Stanislaw Augustus Poniatowski, who had repeatedly participated in Brest small seyms. Poniatowski was born at the manor of Volchin in the neighbourhood of Brest. Trinity Roman-Catholic church still exists at the village. It is the place of baptism and burial of the last king of Rzecz Pospolita.

In 1794, after the defeat of the national liberation uprising under the direction of Tadeusz Kosciusko, the eminent political and military man born in the Brest area, the third partitioning of Poland took place. As a result, the city was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1795. Having become an uyezd centre, Brest-Litovsk lost its past administrative importance and autonomy. First it belonged to the Slonim province, then to the Litovskaya province, and after 1801 to the Grodno province.