History
The first people appeared on Postavy lands as early as the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age (late 3rd – early 2nd millennia BC). This is evidenced by archaeological excavations in the western part of the city, on the bank of Lake Zadevskoye.
During the early Middle Ages, Postavy lands were part of the Polotsk Principality and were under the rule of the Polotsk prince's governor – the posadnik. It is likely that at that time, the settlement of Posadnik existed on the site of the modern city.
In 1409, Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania granted a charter to Zinovy Bratosich, elevating the village of Posadnik to the status of a townlet and renaming it Postavy.
Until the mid-18th century, Postavy was a small townlet with an established center – a market square, from which trade routes to Myadel and Druya began.
Postavy's past is rich in interesting events and famous personalities. Among those who left a significant mark on the city's history are the Tyzenhauzes: Antoni (1733 – 1785) and Konstanty (1786 – 1853). In 1720, the townlet came into the possession of the Tyzenhauz family. Antoni Tyzenhauz, the Lithuanian court treasurer, manager of royal economies, and starost of Grodno, attempted to transform Postavy into one of the centers of cultural and industrial transformation of the Belarusian region. According to his plan and with the participation of architect Giuseppe de Sacco, the central part of the townlet was completely redesigned: a complex appeared on the Market Square – a covered market, craftsmen's houses, the building of the city chancellery and court, a school, an inn, guest houses, a hotel, and a pharmacy. He built manufactories – linen, paper, and belt manufactories. To this day, Baroque-style craft buildings, a hospital, the former hotel building on the central square, and the Tyzenhauz Palace have been preserved.
The new owner of Postavy, Konstanty Tyzenhauz, transformed the city into one of Belarus's scientific and cultural centers. An ornithological museum, an art gallery, and a significant library were established in the palace.
A vivid and tragic page in the district's history is the years of the Great Patriotic War.
During the war, underground Komsomol-youth and anti-fascist organizations and groups, underground district committees of the CPB and LKSMB, partisan brigades named after Voroshilov, Gastello, Rokossovsky, and others operated in the city and district.
This terrible war caused immense damage to the district. During the occupation, German fascist invaders destroyed more than five and a half thousand people in the district. During punitive operations, 77 villages were burned, including Altsy, which was burned along with its inhabitants. Over two thousand young people were taken to Germany for forced labor. Practically every family living in the district suffered.
On July 5, 1944, the city of Postavy was liberated by soldiers of the 145th Rifle Division under Major General P.A. Dibrov. The liberator soldiers who forever remained on Postavy soil include Guards Major General Ignat Vikentievich Klyaro, Guards Colonel Dmitry Vasilievich Kharalsky, and 333 soldiers and officers buried in a mass grave on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street.
The fierce battles for the Postavy region are evidenced by the mass graves of Soviet Army soldiers and partisans in the urban settlements of Voropaevo and Lyntupy, and the villages of Kamai and Mankovichi.