Veľký Šariš is a small town near

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

in eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. The town is known as the site of the largest brewery in Slovakia – Šariš Brewery.

Etymology

The etymology of the name is uncertain. Hungarian historians and linguists prefer the theory that it is derived from the Hungarian word ''sár'' or ''sáros'' (muddy). Slovak historians and linguists assume that the name comes from pre-Hungarian period and is of Slavic or even older origin.

Geography

Veľký Šariš lies at an altitude of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

and covers an area of . It is located on the Torysa river, north-north-west from

. There are ruins of

Šariš Castle Šariš Castle ( Slovak: ''Šarišský hrad'', Hungarian: ''Sáros vára'') is a ruined Gothic and Renaissance era stone castle above the town of Veľký Šariš in Prešov District, Prešov Region, Slovakia. It is a hilltop castle located on a ...

above the city, which were reconstructed in recent years and serve as place for various cultural events, such as music festivals or film festivals.

History

The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A Slavic settlement on the castle foot hill is dated to the 9th–10th century, other settlements were unearthed in the area of the town (9th–10th century, 10th–11th century, later abandoned settlement dated to the 12th–13th century) and at the location ''Dzikov potok'' (8th–9th century). The first written mention of Veľký Šariš dates back to 1217 (''Sarus'') The town was a royal town then a landlord town (since 1465).

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 4,018 inhabitants. 91.69% of inhabitants were

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, 6.07%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, 0.60%

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and 0.55%

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

. The religious makeup was 84.59%

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 4.55% people with no religious affiliation, 4.31%

Greek Catholics Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

and 2.56%

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

Economy

There is brewery Šariš located in town. The brewery was built in 1964 and is part of group SABMiller, which acquired brewery in 1997. Brewery has around 550 employees.

Twin towns – sister cities

Veľký Šariš is twinned with: * Nyírtelek, Hungary * Grybów, Poland * Rakoshino, Ukraine

References

External links

Official website

Number of inhabitants 2011
(PDF) Cities and towns in Slovakia Šariš {{Prešov-geo-stub