| Velim | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Bohemian |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kolín |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 50.0597°N 15.1864°W |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1323 |
| Area Total Km2: | 15.72 |
| Elevation M: | 203 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 2232 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 281 01 |
Velim is a municipality and village in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants.
The village of Vítězov is an administrative part of Velim.
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.[2]
Velim is located about 7km (04miles) northwest of Kolín and 40km (30miles) east of Prague. It lies in a flat agricultural landscape in the Central Elbe Table.
The first written mention of Velim is in a deed of King John of Bohemia 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.[3]
Velim is known for the Velim test centre, a railway rolling stock testing facility operated by VUZ (Railway Research Institute).[4]
Velim is located on the Prague–Kolín railway line.[5]
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.[6]
The Evangelical church was built at the end of the 18th century and rebuilt into its current form in 1852.[7]