Chełm
[key], Rus. Kholm, city, Lubelskie prov., E Poland. It is
a railway junction and has industries manufacturing metals, lumber,
machinery, cement, and liquors. An old Slavic settlement, Chełm was
chartered in 1233. It passed to Poland in 1377, to Austria in 1795, and to
Russia in 1815. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) transferred the city to
Ukraine, but it passed to Poland in 1921. After Chełm was freed from
German occupation in World War II, the new Polish republic was proclaimed
there (July 22, 1944) by the Polish Committee of National Liberation.
Chełm is noted for its cathedral.
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