Lipany, metaphorically the town of seven linden trees (depicted on the Coat of Arms of the town), is the cultural and administrative centre of the northern part of the Upper Torysa region.
The town of Lipany stretches between the Šariš highlands and the Čergov mountains, on the upper course of the Torysa River.
The town of Lipany is first mentioned in documents from the beginning of the 14th century, when the priest Henrich from Lipany took part in a meeting with the Archbishop from Esztergom Tomáš, in Levoča as a member of the delegation “Fraternity of the Upper-Torysa Clergymen”. The first written mention of the town comes from 1312, when Lipany belonged to the Kamenica estate. According to historical data, a sacred Old Slavonic linden grove grew on the place where Lipany was founded as a symbol of Slavic patriotism. From that, the names of the city were derived in various languages” “de Septem Thiliis”, “Siebenlinden” or “Hétháras”. To this day, the town has seven symbolic lindens in its Coat of Arms. Lipany had a convenient location on the old trade route from the Tisa River region to Poland, and was a subject of the Kamenice Castle Estate. In the 16th century, Lipany was one the largest towns in Šariš region. In 1880, the town was afflicted by a large fire and, together with persistent emigration; it affected its demographic development.
In 1909, Lipany became the seat of the district, which was moved to Sabinov in 1924 (until 1960).
Until the 1850s, the inhabitants were mainly engaged in agriculture and small crafts. In the following years, several industrial enterprises were established here, which changed the social structure of the town.
The town experienced the greatest economic growth after World War II. Gradually, textile and engineering production developed, and agricultural production intensified. With economic growth, health care and education developed, as well.
In 2012, the town commemorated the 700th anniversary of its first written mention.
