It is located on the left bank of the Western Dvina, at the mouth of the Druyka River, opposite the Latvian parish of Piedruja.

Medieval Druja was a stronghold of the Massalski princely family fought over by the Grand Duchies of Lithuania and Muscovy through much of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Druja's oldest building is a Baroque Catholic church of the Trinity in the part of town known as Sapiezhyn.

The monastery housed a school where a number of prominent Belarusian personalities were educated, including Cheslaus Sipovich, Jazep Hermanovich, Tamaš Padzjava and Uladzislaŭ Čarniaǔski.

[2][3][4][5] Druja was formerly known for its thriving Jewish community, around 2,200 Jews lived in Druya on the eve of World War II (half of the whole local population).