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Velvary is situated at an altitude of 202 m at the Červený stream in the Kladno district of northwestern Central Bohemia.

The oldest traces of humans in this area date back to the late Stone Age. No documents have survived about the early history of Velvary since the town's archives were consumed by a fire in 1482. The privileges of a town, however, were confirmed that same year by the Bohemian King Vladislav (Ladislaus) II Jagellon. Almost nothing has remained of the Gothic town since it was damaged by many forther fires throughout the later centuries. Most of the historic buildings in town date from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The modern development of Velvary began with the connection in 1882 to the railroad from Prague to Dresden.

The Baroque Plague or Lady Column (Morový mariánský obelisk) [right] was erected in 1716–1719.

Velvary is the birth place of the composers Johann Anton (Jan Antonín) KOTZELUCH (Koželuch, Kozeluch, Koschelich) (1738–1814) and his cousin Leopold (Johann Anton) KOTZELUCH (1747–1818).