Luninets is one of the regional centers in the east of the Brest region (the Republic of Belarus) - at the same time it is a significant transport hub of the Polesie railway. There are a repair and mechanical plant, a station and a depot with the same name. The city has a production of bread and dairy products. There is a woodworking enterprise.

One of the legends about the city's name says that the name Luninets originated from the name Lunin. The Lunin village existed much earlier than Luninets. One of the inhabitants of the village Lunin separated from his countrymen and settled in the place where Luninets is located. He got a farm, built a house, planted a garden, raised childrenand they raised their children.

Another legend about the name of the city refers to even more distant times, when the small princedoms of Kievan Rus waged endless wars with the Mongol-Tatars. A small detachment of Russian soldiers, returning from reconnaissance, settled down on the hill and was slaughtered by the Mongol Tatars during sleep. Elevation, where it happened, was called Sonnaya Gorka by local people. Later, on this hill, a sentry patrol was installed, noticing the enemy, the guard lit a fire, warning of the appearance of the enemy. The bonfires on the Sonnaya Gorka "lunali", so the settlement was called Lunki - from the word "lunat".
  
Luninets was first mentioned in historical sources in 1449 as the village of Maly Lunin. Since 1540 it is known as the village of Luninets belonging to the Stanislav Dovoyn. In 1588, the village had 484 inhabitants, 74 houses, as well as a distillery. In 1622 the owner Konstantin Dolmat presented the village with the peasants to the Dyatlovichi Monastery.

In 1793, as a result of the second partition of the Commonwealth, the village became part of the Pinsk County of the Russian Empire. According to the data of 1795 the population was 624 people, there were 75 houses.

In 1842, the estate and lands of the monastery were transferred to the treasury, the inhabitants became state peasants. In connection with the construction of the Polesie Railways, the population increased - in 1897 it was 3,167 people, 855 households. There were two mills, a public school, a parochial school.

In February 1918, the village was occupied by the Germans, in 1919-1939 Luninets was part of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was the center of the Luninets Polesie Province. At this time in the city lived just over 8 thousand people. The construction of the Holy Cross Exaltation Orthodox Church was completed, and it operates to this day. Also the church of St. Joseph was built.

In 1939, as a result of the Polish campaign of the Red Army, Luninets joined the BSSR. At that time about 8,3 thousand people lived in Luninets. During the Great Patriotic War, he was under German occupation from July 10, 1941 to July 10, 1944. 

In the late XIX - early XX centuries Luninets became an important railway junction. In 1884-1886, the movement of trains to Gomel, Rovno, Vilna and Brest was opened, a large railway junction with depots, workshops and other structures was built near the village, a railway station was built.

In 2011, Ice palace was opened in the city - an analog of the arenas erected earlier in Pruzhany and Kobrin. There is a swimming pool (opened in 2012). In addition, the city has a motoball club "Luninets", which repeatedly won in the European championship in this sport.