Chełm

Chełm is a city located in eastern Poland, in the lubelskie region, 42 kilometers away from the country’s border with Belarus and 27 kilometers away from the border with Ukraine. It is situated upon the river Uherka.

There are many different versions of the etymology of the name of the city, including one name, that might have celtic origins. However, according to the most probable theory, the name originated from the old Slavic name cholm, which means „hill” and refers to the central elevation of Góry Chełmska. (the Chełm Mountain)

According to archaeological researches, which took place in Łowcza and Okuninka, among others, it has been proved that the origins of settlement in these lands date back to the Paleolithic era. The discovered objects tell us, that the people kept settling down in this area over the next eras. Meanwhile, the settlement in the area of Chełm itself began in the beginningh of the common era. At that time, it was enhabited by the people of the Przeworsk culture. In the 10th century A.D., there was a wooden-stone settlement on Wysoka Górka.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, chalk was excavated in these areas.

Since 1795, the city was part of the Austrian annexation, and since 1809, it was part of the

Duchy of Warsaw.

Since November in 1918, Chełm became part of Poland once again. To take advantage of the city’s potential, a strategic decision was made in the early 1920s to move the Eastern District Directorate of State Railways from Radom to Chełm and expand the city at the same time. Between 1926 and 1939, a modernist district called Nowe Miasto was established, which today can easily be considered one of the greatest investments of the independent Poland.