Velim is a municipality and village in

Kolín District Kolín District () is a Okres, district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Kolín. Administrative division Kolín District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with extend ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 2,200 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Velim consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Velim (2,001) *Vítězov (237)

Etymology

The oldest name of the village was Velyně. It was derived from the personal name Vela, meaning "Vela's hamlet". In the second half of the 14th century, the name was distorted to Velim and this form then completely prevailed.

Geography

Velim is located about northwest of

Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...

and east of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. It lies in a flat agricultural landscape in the

Central Elbe Table The Central Elbe Table () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region, but due to its size, it also extends to other regions. The axis of the plateau is the Elbe River, ...

History

The first written mention of Velim is in a deed of King

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

from 1323. According to legend, Velim was first mentioned in 999, when Duke Boleslaus II donated the area to his son Oldřich. The railway was built in 1843. The construction of the railway started the development of the village and industrialization.

Demographics

Economy

Velim is known for the

Velim test centre The Velim test centre () is a railway rolling stock testing facility at Cerhenice, close to the town of Kolín in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Perhaps its most notable feature is the Cerhenice railway test circuit, which consi ...

, a railway rolling stock testing facility operated by VUZ (Railway Research Institute).

Transport

Velim is located on the Prague–Kolín railway line.

Sights

The main landmarks of Velim are the two churches. The Church of Saint Lawrence was built in the Gothic style in the 13th century and rebuilt in the Baroque style in the mid-18th century. Next to the church is a separate bell tower, built in 1767. The Evangelical church was built at the end of the 18th century and rebuilt into its current form in 1852.

Notable people

* Stanislava Součková (1923–1997), operatic soprano *

Vladimír Karbusický Vladimír Karbusický (9 April 1925, in Velim – 23 May 2002, in Hamburg) was a Czech musicologist and folklorist. During World War II, he was abducted by the Germans for forced labor in Hamburg. After returning to Prague, he worked for the Eth ...

(1925–2002), musicologist and folklorist * Jaroslav Souček (1935–2006), operatic baritone

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velim Villages in Kolín District