Chełm: Chalk Tunnels, Museums and Cultural Routes

Chełm offers culture and urban history in many forms: underground chalk tunnels, museum exhibitions, architecture and themed walking routes. Its highlights range from prehistoric nature and traditional culture to religious and architectural heritage. If you’re looking for a hotel in Chełm, you can start by considering which of these themes you’d like your trip to focus on.

Underground History in the Chalk Tunnels

The tourist route through the Chełm Chalk Tunnels covers about a kilometer of underground passages beneath the center of Chełm. The chambers and niches tell the story of chalk mining and the city’s history. This visit focuses on two subjects closely associated with Chełm: chalk mining and the city’s historic heritage. The underground route offers a different perspective from the walking routes that lead to historic landmarks above ground.

Museum, Basilica and Viewpoint

The four buildings of the Muzeum Ziemi Chełmskiej are located in the center of Chełm. The museum features permanent exhibitions and numerous temporary exhibitions on natural history, traditional culture and contemporary art. Topics range from prehistoric fauna and flora to contemporary art. Since temporary exhibitions may change, it’s a good idea to check the current exhibition topics before your visit.

The Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a late Baroque basilica on Góra Chełmska. At Górka Chełmska, a viewing tower offers panoramic views of Chełm and the surrounding area. The cultural landmarks here include both a specific example of late Baroque architecture and a viewpoint overlooking the city and its surroundings.

Walking Routes with Different Highlights

The Szlak Kultury Wschodniej (Eastern Culture Trail) has ten stops associated with Orthodox and Uniate traditions. These include 13th-century crypts of the Princes of Halych, theological seminaries, churches and memorials to prominent figures in Ukrainian history. Visitors interested in this religious and cultural heritage will find different kinds of historic sites along the route, rather than just one type of building.

The Szlak Kultury Żydowskiej (Jewish Culture Trail) is a walking route through places that recall Chełm’s Jewish history and the community that shaped the city over many centuries. Most of the stops are in the center of Chełm. Its focus is on commemorating Jewish history and the long-standing community that forms part of the city’s history.

The Szlak Kultury Zachodniej (Western Culture Trail) also has ten stops. It passes through important historic cultural sites in Chełm; walking the route takes several hours. The Szlak Kultury Wschodniej and the Szlak Kultury Zachodniej can be distinguished by two helpful features: both have ten stops, but they focus on different cultural themes. You should also allow several hours on foot for the western route.

Another walking route, the Szlak chełmskich zabytków architektury (Chełm Architectural Heritage Trail), passes through several centuries of Chełm’s architecture and connects the architectural heritage of three cultures. Architecture is the main focus here, making this route thematically different both from routes that explore religious traditions or community history and from the tour through the chalk tunnels.

Discover more destinations: Stańków, Czarnołozy, Nowosiółki-Kolonia, Huta, Stołpie, Romanówka, Brzeźno, Dorohusk.

See the main travel overview: Chełmski.