It was the birthplace of the Lithuanian princess and later
Grand Duchess of Lithuania and
queen of Poland Sophia of Halshany, extending
Lithuanian
Jagellon dynasty over two states. During the times of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth the town was in the hands of the
Sapieha family, which constructed a castle there in early 17th century. The town grew smaller with the devastations of the mid-17th century wars wrought in the Commonwealth. The town became part of the
Russian Empire with the
partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. During the
French invasion of Russia, the vicinity was captured by the
Franco-
Polish troops on 30 June 1812. It was recaptured by the
Russian Imperial Army on 8 December of the same year. After the
First World War the town became a part of the
Second Polish Republic; it
was taken by the Soviet Union after the
Soviet invasion of Poland and became part of the
Belorussian SSR. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union it became part of
modern Belarus. == Notable people ==