At an elevation of 1,212 m (3,976 ft), it is the second highest municipality in the region and one of the German language islands in Northeast Italy.

Actually, the Romance place name Sauris, possibly derived from Illyrian Savira ("current"), was already mentioned in the 12th century.

Like the historic Cadore region in the west, Carnia had belonged to the ecclesiastical Patria del Friuli (Patriarchate of Aquileia) since 1077 and passed from the Holy Roman Empire to the Republic of Venice by 1420.

Since its foundation, Sauris has been a German linguistic enclave in Friuli and has been able to preserve that status to the present day because of its isolated location.

This vernacular is a variety of Puster Valley Tyrolean Bavarian that is closely related to the speech of nearby Sappada (Plodn).