The town was first mentioned in 1313 as "Zereth". In the Middle Ages, it lay on the trade route called "Bohemian Road" which ran from Buda to Prague on the right bank of the Váh river. Thanks to its location, livestock and grain markets were held in the town and thousands of cattle moved through the town each year. Its commercial importance ended in 1846, when the Pozsony-Nagyszombat (now: Bratislava-Trnava) railway was built. However, the Seredian market tradition survived and the Seredian Market and Bier festival is held every year on St. John Baptist's Day (24 June).