Historians state that the monastery's architect was Giovanni Battista Gisleni,[1] who worked for 40 years in the eastern Commonwealth (now Belarus).
In addition, the monastery had large living premises, a pharmacy, a botanical garden, and an economic infrastructure.
During the Great Northern War, the monastery housed a conference held by King August II of Poland and Tsar Peter I of Russia.
The main sources of the monastery's income were land operations and gifts of local szlachta and magnates.
In 1706, the fortified monastery was put under siege and then taken by assault and looted by the forces of Charles XII of Sweden.
After the Partitions of Poland and the annexation of Belarus by the Russian Empire, the number of monks shrank to six persons and the monastery's huge treasures were robbed.
In 1823 the monks were claimed to have taken part in the uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko thirty years earlier, but no evidence of this could be found.