Velm (, ) is one of the '' ancienne communes'' in the municipality of

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

, Limburg province,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Velm is bounded in the east by the N80 motorway, leading to

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

, and in the west by the railroad from Sint-Truiden to

Landen Landen () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Landen proper and the villages of Attenhoven, Eliksem, Eze ...

History

Velm was mentioned for the first time in writing in 790 as ''Falmia''. As of 982 the name of ''Velme'' can be found. Originally, Velm was a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the

Gorze Abbey Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s. History Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Ch ...

near

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In the 16th century the manor was sold to the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

Prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

Érard de La Marck immediately donated the rights to the lands to the chapter of Saint Lambert in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. When the communities were formed in Belgium in 1795, Velm was designated an independent municipality. Originally a rural village of farmers and fruit growers, it developed in the course of the 20th century into a residential village. In the 1977 merger of municipalities, Velm became a '' ancienne commune'' of

Places of interest

* Church of Saint Martin, built in 1783 in the

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

style, is dedicated to

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

. In 1912 the church was expanded by adding a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

and a

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. * A Josephite monastery was built in the 18th century, also in the Classicism style. The building now is a language school. * The Kasteel Peten, a neoclassical

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

of the 19th century.

Demographic

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References

{{RefList

External links

Website about the community of Velm
Sint-Truiden Former municipalities of Limburg (Belgium) Populated places in Limburg (Belgium)