This city of 70 000 inhabitants, close to the Ukrainian border, is worth a visit. It is not really oriented towards tourism but it presents an authentic face of Eastern Poland. Its historical city center is very well preserved and it presents a number of cultural attractions. The city's development dates back to the 14th century, when it became part of the Polish crown and Jews were invited to settle there to develop its trade. They represented up to 60% of the population before a rapid decline. Victim of the troubles of the East-West civil war, of invasions and successive destructions between the 17th and 19th centuries, this quiet city became Polish again only after the First World War. The most tragic story remains the extermination of Chełm's Jewish community, executed or deported, during the Nazi occupation. Despite this, the Jewish community remains very present in the local and Polish imagination. In Eastern European Jewish jokes, the good men of Chełm are portrayed exactly like the Irish in the jokes of the English! Today, this city has recovered - like the region - some of its authenticity, but some wounds do not heal so easily, and the memory of its martyred population is very much present. The main centers of interest are an underground chalk gallery unique in the world and the remarkable church of the Piarists.

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