Veľký Šariš (German: Groß-Scharosch, Hungarian: Nagysáros) is adjacent to Gregorovce and Šarišské Michaľany, to the east with Fintice and to the west with Medzany, Malý Šariš and to the south with the town of Prešov. Its area is 25,73 km2 (2573 ha). The Torysa River flows through the town.
Based on the current state of knowledge, we place the beginnings of the settlement of the central Šariš region in the younger part of the Middle Palaeolithic. We rely on the stone tools recovered from the Bikoš V site, which are 60 000 to 80 000 years old. These are the first evidences of the presence of Neanderthal man in the Šariš region.
First written mention about the town dates back to the year 1217. Veľký Šariš evidently existed even before the first written records on the level of villages, probably with separate parishes. (Košice was founded in 1230, Bardejov in 1241, Presov in 1247, Sabinov in 1248, Levoča in 1249). In 2017, the town celebrated 800 years.
On 28 January 1299 King Andrew III of Hungary granted the Saxons (Germans) settled in Veľký Šariš, Prešov and Sabinov some the rights of free royal cities. It meant that all inhabitants of Veľký Šariš, (not only Saxons, but also Hungarian and Slovak population), were exempted from fees and taxes, handed over to the Šariš county governor and castellan of Šariš castle, and were no longer subject to their jurisdiction. They were also no longer subject to the obligation to participate in the army. The town's only obligation was to pay 150 marks of silver annually to the ruler. This moment shows the important position and economic strength of the town already at this time.
The decisive factor for the establishment of the settlement was an important crossroads of trade routes, connecting the Balkans with the Polish Baltic (the Salt Road) and in the E-W direction, it was the road connecting Halych with Spiš. Veľký Šariš developed as a typical sub-castle.
Veľký Šariš with its immediate surroundings is situated in the south-eastern part of the geomorphological unit of the Spišsko-Sariš interfluvial region in its sub-unit Šarišské podolie with Šarišský vrch (Šarišský hill). In the area of Veľký Šariš the more significant mountains are still Šarišská hora (419m above sea level), Dúbrava (493,1m above sea level), Bikoš (Bukovina 378,6m above sea level) and Okruhliak (390,6m above sea level)). In the wider surroundings (already outside the chotár) of Veľký Šariš is the highest point Stráž (739m above sea level) and Lysá Stráž (696.4m above sea level).
The axis of the territory is the Torysa River, forming a wide valley with several branching arms. Among the more important tributaries from the right side are the Pajtovský and Šarišský brooks. From the left side Dzikov.
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