I. Antiquity - Kneja is located in Northwestern Bulgaria, 30 km. south of the Danube River, 8-14 km. east of the Iskar River, covering the central plain between the two rivers and the Skut River. Favorable climatic conditions and fertile chernozem soil have attracted man since prehistoric times, when various tribes and hordes passed through these lands. During the different historical epochs the land of Knezha was inhabited by the peoples of: Thracians, Slavs, Proto-Bulgarians, Romans, Celts, Greeks and others. The archaeological materials studied so far indicate that these lands were inhabited thousands of years ago. The oldest artifacts are from prehistoric times, dating from the first half of the Bronze Age and originating from the Krivulia locality. From the time of the Thracians also dates the tomb from Koshutanyaka m., Where a burial place was discovered from the middle of the second millennium BC. e. The reduced position of a hacker proves that the inhabitants of these lands are Thracians. During the Iron Age, Thracians continued to inhabit the area of ​​Knezha, as evidenced by tombstones in the outskirts of the city, in which one found Thracian weapons. During the excavation of another tomb in Koshutanyaka, a burial by burial was discovered, dating from the second millennium BC, from which the Thracian soldiers were also. From the period of Roman domination of the 1st - 4th centuries AD, several settlements were discovered in the present-day land of Knezha. The first is located northwest of the city, in Srebren, where the pottery was discovered. The second settlement was discovered in the town of Varbitsa, where a part of a marble column originates. The third Thracian and Roman settlement covers the center of the present-day town of Knezha - from the Chitalishte to the Municipality, and part of the quarters to the west of this line. The fourth settlement is located in the northeast part of the present city, as evidenced by broken pottery, roofing material, broken Roman bricks. The fifth settlement is in Marinov Geran, where pottery and coins were found. Remains of the sixth Thracian settlement are in Gostilya, north of the highway at the end of the land, from which clay vessels were discovered. The last two settlements are on the Roman road from Ulpia Escus to the village of Gigen to Montana. Archeological artifacts have been found in the dam of Geranium and south of the Presol Well in the dam.
II. Middle Ages - From the time of the First Bulgarian State - VII - X c. Two settlements are known, which are located on the cultural layer of the Thracian settlements from the Roman era in Gostilya and in the center of the present city. Already with the establishment of the Bulgarian state, the land of Knezha falls within its boundaries, as evidenced by the traces of one of the three border fortifications - Asparuhov shafts, and more specifically the Ostrovsky shaft, also called Okopa. territory ends on the Danube River to the village of Ostrov, where it continues in Romania. The length of the shaft is 58 km, the width at the top is 5 m, the width at the base - 2.5 m, the depth of the trench is 3 m. The result of many years of processing, as well as the processes in nature, in most of the Okop is leveled. The team of the Knezha Museum of History made a study of issues related to the Asparuh shaft, as a direct result of which is a set of documents including maps and photographs of the current state of the Asparuh shaft. The question of the name of the village of Knezha is still controversial, as there are two different opinions. According to one, the name derives from the Slavic title of ruler, tribal leader - "prince".
III. Ottoman period and Liberation- After the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule, the local population was forced to leave their homes several times because of the cruel exploitation and oppression. They are settling in neighboring villages and some are seeking asylum in Romania and Russia. It is known that in the seventeenth century Kneja was the possession of the Ottoman feudal lord Ismail, which is why she was named Ismail Bunar.