Chełm A city with an interesting history. Chełm, located on the border between East and West Slavdom, in the past was a place of co-existence of many nationalities, religions and cultures. From the Middle Ages on the land of Chełm lived Orthodox, Catholics and Jews. In later centuries, the religious and cultural mosaic was complemented by Protestants and Greek Catholics. The languages of the city were Polish, Russian and Hebrew. In the temples, schools and narrow streets of the old Chełm, a multilingual community lived in harmony.

The remains of colorful history and culture are the buildings, customs and unique atmosphere of the city encouraging you to visit and surrender even for a moment to its charm. It is a place of peace and respect for tourists. Those who come here will surely take the most beautiful memories with them.

As far as the history of the city of Chełm is concerned, it is a stronghold with over 1,000 years of history, located on one of the lofty hills of theChełmskie Hills . According to archaeological data, it is one of the oldest centers of the region counted among Grody Czerwieńskie. In the thirteenth century, the city was the capital of the Halych-Vladimir state and served as the headquarters of the King of Rus, Daniel Romanowicz, who was enchanted by the charm of this place and appreciated its natural defensive qualities.

After many years of fighting between Lithuania, Hungary and Poland, in 1387 Chełm and the Chełm land were incorporated into the Polish state by Queen Jadwiga. In 1392, Chełm received city rights from Władysław Jagiełło. At that time, he belonged to important centers of the Jagiellonian Poland. From the thirteenth century, the Orthodox bishop resided here, and from the fifteenth century - Latin, which significantly raised the rank of the city.

After the Brest union (1596), the Orthodox diocese was transformed into Uniate. It was abolished by the tsarist authorities in 1875. Numerous wars that swept through the country in the 17th century did not spare Chełm. The Cossack, Swedish and Muscovite forces destroyed the city and plunged the city into a crisis. After the Third Partition of Poland Chełm came under the authority of Austria and then Russia. These were times full of fighting and martyrdom. The symbol of this period is the fate of the Uniates fighting for the preservation of their faith. In addition, during the January Uprising, the struggles near Chełm took on a particularly intense nature. At the end of the period of partitions, in 1912, the Russian authorities established a separate Chełm governor with the capital in Chełm, which was excluded from the Kingdom of Poland and became part of the Russian Empire. In 1915, the Russian invaders took over the Austrians. The development of Polish and Jewish and Ukrainian social and cultural life took place. The multicultural character of the city was maintained after regaining independence.

Throughout the interwar period, many Polish, Jewish and Ukrainian organizations operated in Chełm. During World War II, a huge POW camp Stalag 319 was created in the city, in which nearly 100,000 Jews were killed. Russian, English and Italian soldiers. The dramatic events of the Second World War led to the destruction of the multinational Chełm community and changed the character of the city irretrievably. During the People's Poland in Chełm and in the region, the anti-communist underground opposing the deprivation of Poland's sovereignty and its domination by the USSR was active. Read more about history of Chelm...