Kopys

The first references to Kopys are dated at 1059. From the 14th century, it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently the Polish-Lithuanian Union after the Union of Krewo (1385). Administratively, it was part of the Vitebsk Voivodeship. It was granted town rights in the 16th century. It was a private town owned by the Ostrogski family and, after 1594, the Radziwiłł family. A castle stood in the town of Kopys and a Calvinist church was founded by Krzysztof Mikołaj Radziwiłł. During the Great Northern War, in 1707, Kopys was destroyed by Russian troops. In 1772, it became a part of the Russian Empire in the course of the First Partition of Poland.

The Kapust Hasidic dynasty originates in Kopys. By the end of the 18th century, there was a Jewish typography in the town.

• Alexander Lukashenko (born 1954), president of Belarus
• David Remez (1886-1951), Israeli politician
• Veniamin Blazhenny (1921-1999), poet