The town is a busy border crossing between Poland and Belarus on the European route E30 which links Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow.

The town of Terespol is located in the spot of a village called Błotków or Błotkowo, which existed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the second half of the 17th century, Błotków with its ruined palace was purchased by Castellan of Vilnius Józef Bogusław Słuszka, who founded here a town, named Terespol after his wife, Teresa née Gosiewska.

In 1748, Terespol became property of Grand Treasurer of Lithuania Georg Detlev von Flemming, who made great contribution to the development of the town, draining local swamps and building a number of dykes and canals.

Furthermore, Flemming introduced a number of German settlers, and built a manor house in the location of the destroyed royal castle.

[4] In 1764, Terespol was ransacked by private soldiers of Polish magnate Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł, who waged a personal war with Flemming for his support of the Czartoryski family.

In 1855, due to the construction of Brest Fortress, Terespol was moved westwards, and all buildings in the old town were destroyed for military purposes.

In 1915, all residents living within 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the fortress were forcibly resettled into Russia, and during the evacuation, the town was ransacked and burned.

During World War II Terespol was briefly occupied by the Soviets in September 1939, and then by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1944.