Velimeşe

Velimeşe is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Ergene, Tekirdağ Province, Turkey. Its population is 11,420 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde) in the district of Çorlu.

Geography
Velimeşe is situated in East Thrace (the European part of Turkey) to the north of Çorlu Creek (a tributary of the river Ergene) and O.3 motorway which connects Istanbul to Kapıkule at the Bulgarian border. The distance to Çorlu is 13 km to Tekirdağ is 52 km and to Istanbul is 110 km.

History
In the 19th century in the place of the town there was a public farm used for military training. The name of the farm was Velipaşa referring an Ottoman pasha. After the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) Turkish refugees from Bulgaria and Serbia were settled in the farm and the settlement was named as Velimeşe. In the early 20th century there were two temporary occupations of the settlement. In 1912 it was occupied by Bulgaria during the First Balkan War, but it was returned to Turkey during the Second Balkan War. Between 1920 and 1922 following the First World War, it was occupied by Greece. On 15 October 1922 Velimeşe was returned to Turkey. In 1974 the settlement was declared a seat of township.

Economy
Velimeşe is a flourishing town. Corn, sunflower and cereals are among the main crops. But the majority of town residents work in factories around the town.