The city is located in the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (northeastern Slovenia), among the rolling green hills of the Šalek Valley, with the Kamnik–Savinja Alps to the west and the Pohorje Mountains to the east.

A less likely hypothesis derives the name from the Slovene common noun velen(je) 'pasture for livestock'.

The lignite mining industry in the area contributed to the expansion of the town before World War II.

[11] The square was once used as a meeting place of Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev, as well as Edward Gierek and Nicolae Ceaușescu.

[13] The Velenje Cultural Center, in the northwestern part of the square, was built in 1959 according to plans by Oton Gaspari, and opened in November 1960.

Today, it hosts the public institute Velenje Festival, which holds various cultural activities.

[16] Velenje is one of the strongest economic centers in Slovenia, equipped with modern infrastructure.

[20] There are up to 15 trains per day to Ljubljana and Maribor during the week, all of which require a transfer in Celje and take about 2 to 3 hours.

[21] Velenje's bus station is on Šalek Street (Slovene: Šaleška cesta), just east of the Mercator shopping center.

The city is the birthplace of Jolanda Čeplak, a Slovenian middle distance athlete and Olympic bronze medalist.