Zelva is an urban-type settlement in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Zelva District. It is situated by the Zelvyanka River. As of 2025, it has a population of 6,193.
Initially Zelwa was a private possession of various nobles, by the mid-16th century it became a possession of the Polish Crown, and in the 17th century it became again a private possession of nobility, including the Sapieha, Poà Âubià Âski, Radziwià Âà Â, Jarmoà Âowicz and Konarzewski families. In 1720 weekly markets and annual fairs were established. In 1739 a Piarist monastery was founded.
In the interbellum, it was administratively located in the Woà Âkowysk County in the Biaà Âystok Voivodeship of Poland. According to the 1921 census, the population was 63.4% Jewish, 31.1% Polish and 5.3% Belarusian.
Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, it was first occupied by the Soviet Union until 1 July 1941, and then by Nazi Germany until 12 July 1944 and administered as a part of Bezirk Bialystok. When the Germans entered the town, they killed 40 to 50 Jewish men and kept the Jews of the town imprisoned in a ghetto in very harsh conditions. In November 1942, the Jews were deported and murdered at the Treblinka extermination camp.