The history of the Loyev region traces back to the distant past. The most ancient settlements refer to the Middle Stone Age. The Loyev region’s territory was occupied by the tribes of Dregovichs and to the left of the Dnepr by the tribes of Radimichs.
Throughout the centuries the Dnepr played an essential role in the town’s history as it connects the northern seas with the Black Sea, Scandinavia with Byzantium. In the old days it was a route which earned a place in history as “the way from the Vikings to the Greek”.
Historical chronicles mention an ancient name of Loy. It is possible that Loy made first constructions here. It is difficult to find out who he was - a duke or a tribe’s founder. However, every version deserves examination and close study.
Archeological landmarks of the Loyev region are an important resource for studying the Belarusian ancient history. The present-day historical science shows great interest in them. Archeological excavations around the village of Mokhov revealed a number of archeological species dating back to the Stone, Bronze, Iron and Middle Ages. The monuments’ territory covers some 30 hectares.
According to the archeological findings, in the 10-11th centuries Mokhov was the largest in Belarus and one of the largest in Eastern Europe settlements in the early years of the Kievan Rus. Soldiers and merchants were interred in burial mounds. Funeral rites’ articles found during the excavations show that not only Slavs but also people from Eastern and Northern Baltic countries were buried there.
According to the preliminary scientific conclusions, in the 10-11th centuries Mokhov was a military-trade settlement controlling the largest transport way Eastern Europe-the Dnepr /from the Vikings to the Greek/.
For some 5 hundred years the Loyev region was a part to the Great Duchy of Lithuania – one of the most powerful European states in the Middle Age.
At the end of July 1649 Loyev witnessed the largest battle of the Cossack War of 1648-1651 between the troops of Ukrainian Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitskiy and Polish Chancellor Janusz Radziwill. The Cossack troops were defeated in the two-day battle of Loyev that killed more than 200 thousand soldiers.
In 1861 Loyev had 361 farms, 2 Orthodox churches, 2 Roman-Catholic Churches, 2 Jewish schools. People practiced Orthodoxy. According to the historical documents, Loyev opened a public college in 1863. By 1914 Loyev population reached 8 thousand. There were 90 settlements in the region. A bridge was constructed over the Dnepr to open a short way to Chernigov and Kiev.
During the civil war stationed by Loyev ships of the Dnepr military fleet made a heroic break through the fortified region of Poles.
One of the pages of the Loyev history is connected with the Great Patriotic War. The liberation of Belarus from the Nazis began from the Loyev bridgehead in 1943.
Some 279 soldiers were conferred the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the liberation of the Loyev region. The Great Patriotic War killed more than 3 thousand of Loyev natives, 5 Loyev residents became Heroes of the Soviet Union. There are 41 monuments of the Great Patriotic War in the region. In 1966 the region inaugurated a 18-meter Monument of Glory in honor of the soldiers of the 61st and 65th armies.