Chełm

Chełm is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. 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. The Chełm–Kovel railway (both 1435 mm and 1520 mm gauge) links the city to Kovel, and represents the longest standard-gauge railway connecting Ukraine to the rest of Europe. The city is of mostly industrial character, though it also features numerous notable historical monuments and tourist attractions in the Old Town. Chełm is a multiple (former) bishopric. In the third quarter of the 13th century, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia. Following the Galicia–Volhynia Wars of succession, in the mid-14th century, the town became part of the Kingdom of Poland. Chełm was once a multicultural and religious centre populated by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Protestants and Jews. The Jewish population was decimated in World War II, going from 15,000 Jewish inhabitants to mere dozens. From 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of the Chełm Voivodeship. The city's landmarks are the Castle Hill with the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary and the unique Chełm Chalk Tunnels spanning some 15 kilometres (9 mi) of underground routes.