Chełm

Chełm
Cathedral on Góra Chełmska
Flag Coat of arms
Chełm
Coordinates: 51°9′N 23°29′E / 51.150°N 23.483°E / 51.150; 23.483
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lublin
County	city County
Established	10th century
Town rights	1392
Government
• Mayor	Wiesław Kociuba
Area
• City	35.28 km2 (13.62 sq mi)
Highest elevation	153 m (502 ft)
Lowest elevation	80 m (260 ft)
Population (2015)
• City	63,949
• Density	1,812/km2 (4,690/sq mi)
• Metro	78,419
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	22-100 to 22-118
Area code(s)	+48 082
Car plates	LC
Website	http://www.chelm.pl

Chełm [xɛu̯m] (German: Kulm, Ukrainian: Холм, meaning a hill, Lithuanian: Chelmas) is a city in eastern Poland with 63,949 inhabitants (2015). It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some 25 kilometres (16 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Chełm used to be the capital of the Chełm Voivodeship until it became part of the Lublin Voivodeship in 1999.

The city is of mostly industrial character, though it also houses numerous notable historical monuments and tourist attractions. Chełm's etymology stems from the Slavic word "cholm" - a hill, relating to the Wysoka Górka gord.

The first traces of settlement in the area of modern Chełm date back to at the least 9th century. The following century, a Slavic fortified town was created and initially served as a centre of pagan worship. The etymology of the name is unclear, though most scholars derive it from the Slavic noun denoting a flat hill. The town's centre is located on a hill called góra chełmska. However, it is also theorized that the name is derived from some Celtic root. In 981 the town, then inhabited by the Eastern Slavic tribe of Buzhans, was made a part of Kievan Rus', along with the surrounding Cherven Towns. According to a local legend, Vladimir the Great built the first stone castle there in 1001. Following the Polish capture of Kiev in 1018, the region became part of Poland until returning to Kievan rule in 1031.