Velenje ( pronunciation (help·info)) is the fifth largest town in Slovenia and the centre of the eponymous municipality. It is located on the Paka River in the eastern part of the Šalek Valley in northern Slovenia. After World War II, it rapidly advanced and developed into a modern city.

Velenje Castle is located on a hill to the west of the town. The Old Velenje (Slovene: Staro Velenje), the downtown at the foot of the castle, is first mentioned in written documents dating to 1264 and 1374 as a small market town and was a center of handicraft and trade. The lignite mining industry in the area contributed to the expansion of the town, especially before World War II. The modern city of Velenje was planned and built in the 1950s, in the time of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia. In 1960, the manufacturer of household appliances Gorenje moved its headquarters to the town from the nearby village of Gorenje. From 1981 until 1990, the town had the name Tito Velenje (Titovo Velenje), after the revolutionary and the statesman Josip Broz Tito.