Velem

The village and its neighbourhood was inhabited even in the New Stone Age. Most of the relics were found on St. Vid Mountain, 582 m above the village. When excavation began, remnants of a prehistoric fortified area were discovered, which was built in the 13-11th centuries BC. It supervised the trading route leading along the foot of the mountain. At the lower part of the fortress a metal workshop was developed due to the copper and antimony found nearby. The furnaces and workshops started to be excavated by Kálmán Miske in 1896. The greatest attraction of the excavations - lasted until 1929 - was a golden diadem from the 11th-9th centuries BC. A team of Savaria Museum continued the excavations from 1973. Then they discovered dwelling houses on the eastern and southern terraces of the mountain. Some of the buildings were rebuilt in 1979 and they were operated as an open-air pre-historic museum, however they were not kept in good repair and finally, they got damaged. A stone relief, some coins, fibulas and also pottery ware from the Roman Age were found on the site. Moreover, an Avar cemetery from the time of the great migrations was found on the mountainside. It was operated as a fortress during Árpád-era as well, but according to some experts its castle has Carolingian origins. It was first mentioned as St. Vid in the 13th century. Both castle and the village were parts of Németújvári’s estate. Prince Albrecht occupied it in 1289. After being reoccupied, it was possibly demolished in accordance with the peace treaty in 1291 as later there was no historical record of the castle except for Miklós Jurisich’s captainship. St. Vid church was already mentioned in historical records in the 17th century. In its tower loop–hole bases from the 13th century were found. Its one-aisle Baroque building was rebuilt in 1859. It used to be a significant place for dedication festivals. The name of the village was first written down as part of Rohonc castle in 1279 in connection with an estate-division. Then it was mentioned as Welyen. From the 1400s its history is attached to Rohonc domain, it is similar to that of Cák’s. During the time between the two world wars its natural values were discovered and so its tourism started to flourish. In the 30s a beach was established, then in 1938 Szombathely had a children holiday house built there. In the same year, on the gift-land of a secondary school teacher, Ede Pavetits’s, the Garabonciás Holiday Centre was founded on the plateau under St. Vid church. In the last months of the world war in 1944-45, the escaping Szálasi government settled down in the village. The Prime Minister’s office was houses in Stirling Cottage and the Holy Crown was kept here between 29 December 1944 and 19 march 1945.