The town of Prouzhany is situated at the source of the river Moukhavets. The town has been known since 1487 under the name of Dabouchin. Before 1519 it had been in the Kobrin princedom of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later it had been in the Kobrin economy. In 1589 Prouzhany obtained the Magdeburg right and a coat of arms. At that time, when it got its present name of Prouzhany, the town was quite a big trading centre. From 1795 it had been part of the Russian empire, the centre of the Prouzhany district. In the first half of the XX century the town was known as a centre of potter's craftsmanship.

In 1921—1939 Prouzhany went to Poland. From January 1939 the town had been part of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic and from January 15, 1940 it has been the centre of the Prouzhany district. The following enterprises operate in Prouzhany: a flax treating plant, butter and cheese producing plan, a cannery, a plant of radio components, a building materials integrated works and a fruit canning integrated works. The following architectural monuments have been preserved in Prouzhany: the town Manor (the middle of the XIX century), the chapel (1852), the Aleksandr Nevsky's cathedral (1866), the church (1878), the trading lines (1896), the Catholic church of the Erection of the Holy Maiden Maria (1883).

Guide to towns and district centers of Republic of Belarus. A.V. Varivonchik [etc.]