Chełm is a town in eastern Poland with 72,595 inhabitants (2005). It is located  to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some 25 kilometres from the border with Ukraine. Since 1999 located in the Lublin Voivodeship, previously the town was the capital of a separate voivodeship.
The town is of mostly industrial character, though it also houses numerous notable historical monuments and tourist attractions. In Jewish humor, the town is the legendary capital of foolishness.