Tombstone monument to the representatives of the Sapieha family in Bereza (Bereza, Bereza Kartuska, Belarus: Бяроза, Biaroza).

In the municipal cemetery in Bereza, located behind the southern wall of the former Kartuska, there is a tall brick obelisk. Despite its interesting form and undoubtedly 19th-century provenance, it is not on the list of cultural monuments of the Republic of Belarus. It is a tall (3.69 m) pyramid with the base of an isosceles triangle (with a side of 2.25 m), built of burnt brick on sand-lime mortar. Its walls - south and south-east - have deep recesses in moulded frames.

The monument is linked to the Sapieha family, whose representatives from the Cherno-Rozna line were buried in the crypt of the Carthusian church, founded by Lithuanian sub-chancellor Kazimierz Leon Sapieha as a family necropolis. After the dissolution of the Carthusian monastery (1831) by a tsarist decree, which officially followed the monks' involvement in the November Uprising, the church and former hermitage survived for another three decades before a decree was issued for their demolition. A meticulous account of this work, described in dozens of pages, has been preserved in the Grodno Historical Archives. Among the numerous documents, there was a note that a tin coffin with the remains of Kazimierz Leon Sapieha was found during the demolition of the church walls. It was then decided that both the ashes of the sub-chancellor and the coffins of other Sapiehs buried in the crypt under the St Bruno Chapel would be moved to the local cemetery. Initially, Kazimierz Leon's remains were buried at the edge of the cemetery, with only a wooden cross erected over the grave, but later a common burial of all the deceased was arranged there, commemorating the place with a brick obelisk in the shape of a high pyramid.

For many years the site was exposed to the adverse effects of the weather. The whitewashed masonry structure was deteriorating - the surface of the plaster and bricks was weathering, the metal elements in the niches were corroding, and one of the corners was badly strained (probably due to devastation). The dilapidated state of the building material posed a threat to the stability of the monument - the partially scarred bricks were sagging on the surface, and rainwater seeping into the cracks caused damage to the object from the inside, especially during freezing temperatures. Fragmentary preserved plaster and profile remains were infested with micro-organisms.

Within the framework of the 'Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad 2018' programme, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage's funding from the Cultural Promotion Fund managed to finance the necessary renovation and conservation works at the Beres obelisk. They were carried out in the 2nd half of 2018 under the direction of Dr Dorota Piramidovich, by art conservator Andrzej Kazberuk and two Bereza residents - journalist Nikolai Sinkievich and teacher Vasyl Novik.

The activities were aimed at securing the object, reconstructing defects in bricks, plaster, finials and restoring the inscription plates. For the additions and reconstruction, bricks from the debris of the former Carthusian church were used, which made sense, as the monument was erected from bricks obtained during the demolition of the monastery church in 1869. The obelisk was strengthened, and the necessary additions to the walls and profiles were made. In the finial, a cross of 17th-century metal flat bar was placed, supported on a sandstone sphere forged from sandstone. Plaques made of dark Swedish granite were inserted in the place of four differently shaped niches. They were designed contemporaneously (accounts of their historical content are unknown) and their purpose was to commemorate the Sapieha family, one of the most important in the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for both Lithuania and the Crown. The four plaques included the Sapieha coat of arms Lis, the reference (in Polish and Belarusian) "To the ashes of the representatives of the Sapieha family transferred here from the crypt of the Carthusian church in Bereza in 1869", the Latin sentence "Requiescant in pace", and the date 1869. Mounted on the smooth wall of the obelisk was a fifth plaque with a list of the names of the Sapiehs buried here, drawn up on the basis of archival records and literature relating to the history of the family (in two languages - Polish and Belarusian). According to current knowledge, they were:

Kazimierz Leon Sapieha (1609-1656) - Lithuanian sub-chancellor, founder of the Carthusia in Bereza

Paweł Jan Sapieha (1610-1665) - Voivode of Vilnius, Great Hetman of Lithuania

Anna Sapiega, née Kopci Sapiega (1627-1707) - Vilnius Voivode, wife of Pavel Jan

Kazimierz Jan Sapieha (c.1642-1720) - Voivode of Vilnius, Great Hetman of Lithuania

Leon Bazyli Sapieha (1652 or 1656-1686) - General of the Lithuanian Artillery

Franciszek Stefan Sapieha (?-1686) - Lithuanian equerry

Zofia Sapieżanka (?-1694) - daughter of Franciszek Stefan, Lithuanian Horse Officer

Maria de Béthune Sapieżyna (1677-1721) - Grand Marshal of Lithuania, wife of Alexander Paul

Jerzy Stanisław Sapieha (1667-1732) - Voivode of Mstislavl

Krystyna Sapieżanka (?-1733) - daughter of Jerzy Felicjan, Voivode of Mścisławski

Kazimierz Józef Sapieha (?-1749) - starosta of Olkienice and Jałów

Michał Antoni Sapieha (1711-1760) - Chancellor of Lithuania

Tekla née Radziwiłłów Sapieżyna (1703-1747) - Chancellor of Lithuania, wife of Michał Antoni

Aleksander Michał Sapieha (1730-1793) - Voivode of Polotsk, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania

Michał Ksawery Sapieha (1735-1766) - Grand Chancellor of Lithuania

Magdalena Agnieszka Sapieżyna (née Lubomirska Sapieha) (1739-1780) - Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, wife of Alexander Michał

Franciszek Sapieha (1772-1829) - General of the Lithuanian Artillery