Green Velo

The excursion lets you explore the most valuable sacred sites of the city built on chalk deposits, where three cultures had been in contact for years: Polish, Ruthenian and Jewish. The trip includes sightseeing at Chełm Hill with a beautiful panorama of the city, the chalk tunnels, admiring the rare species of flora and fauna of the Chełm Landscape Park on the way from Czułczyce, as well as Przysiółek, where an Orthodox church and a historical wooden Catholic church from the 18th century can be seen.
 

In a chalk cave under the three oaks, there once lived a white bear that was the terror of the surrounding area. One day, the residents built a church at the foot of the oaks and lit an eternal flame. The bear, blinded by the fire, sank into the ground and became the guardian of Chełm and the surroundings, and is said to appear as the ghost Bieluch to this day.

The adventure in search of the Bieluch Ghost starts at the foot of the oldest and most important part of Chełm – the so-called Chełm Hill. While riding along the urban bike trails, you will come upon the Green Velo trail, leading towards the Chełm Landscape Park. It runs towards the village of Horodyszcze with a hill fort. The next section of the route leads along the educational path of the landscape park to the town of Przysiółek. After a few minutes, you will reach the neighbouring village of Czułczyce. Farther on (4 km), amid marshy meadows of the village of Sajczyce is another fortification – another chance to discover the trail of Bieluch. The trip continues towards the forest over a field road paved with concrete slabs. The path through the forest leads through the vicinity of wetlands and the beautiful greenery of the park. When you leave the forest, you will find the asphalt road of the Green Velo trail leading to Chełm. At the fork in the road, it is worth turning towards Srebrzyszcze. Not far from there is the village Okszów. Next, you should head to the place where Bieluch once hid underground, the Old Chalk Mine.

Where can you really meet the ghost Bieluch and is the legend about him true? You’ll have to find out for yourself during this trip.

Route:

• Chełm (0 km)
• Horodyszcze (4 km)
• Przysiółek (13 km)
• Czułczyce (14 km)
• Sajczyce (16 km)
• Nowiny (32 km) – Chełm (40.8 km)

Surface:

• Most of the route: hardened asphalt
• Stara Wieś–Poczekajka: dirt road through the forest, in some places reinforced with stones (approx. 6.5 km)

Route partially marked:

• More than half the route: paths and cobblestone roads along Green Velo trail
• Forest road sections: yellow bike trail “Chełm Landscape Park Backwoods” (Leśne ostępy Chełmskiego Parku Krajobrazowego)

Tourist attractions on the route:

• Chełm – in the oldest part of the city, at the peak of the chalk Chełm Hill, there are the remnants of a defensive stronghold from the 10th century, a duke’s castle and a historical cathedral complex, which is currently a Marian sanctuary.
• Horodyszcze – an early medieval hill fort, known as Maiden Hill, overgrown with old oaks.
• Przysiółek – an early medieval hill fort, known as the old castle and a wooden church from the 18th century in the cemetery.
• Czułczyce – a brick church from the early 20th century, an old Orthodox church in the Byzantine-Ruthenian style, with the furnishings from the little church in Przysiółek.
• Sajczyce – an early medieval hill fort situated amid marshy meadows in the valley of the Uherka River.
• Srebrzyszcze – a palace-and-park complex with a Baroque palace of the Lubański family from the 18th century and an Italian park with a linden avenue and a pond.
• Okszów – an old manor-and-park complex from the 18th-20th centuries (currently the Agricultural Continuing Education Centre School – Zespół Szkół RCKU).
• Old Chalk Mine in Chełm – an exceptional example of mining on a European scale, as well as a tourist attraction. Part of the labyrinth of corridors and chambers under the centre of the city belongs to a popular tourist route.