Prešov is a regional town located in Prešov region. The beginnings of the settlement of this territory go back to the Stone Age. The first written mention of Prešov can be found in the charter of king Belo IV. from 1247. In 1374, Prešov was granted town privileges, making the town of Prešov a free royal town. In the 14th and 15th centuries, town experienced an extraordinary economic boom, guilds (leather, blacksmith, tailor, shoemaker, etc.) were founded here, and at that time, around two thousand people, mostly engaged in crafts, lived here. The development of town in the 16th and 17th centuries was influenced by the spreading reformation and anti-Habsburg uprisings. The town was also affected by natural disasters, plague epidemic, fires, and its decline deepened. The production of salt was of great economic importance for town, and therefore in the 19th century the outdated system of salt extraction was replaced by a more modern extensive complex.
