Chodov (Sokolov District)

Chodov
Town
Saint Lawrence Church
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Czech Republic
Region Karlovy Vary
District Sokolov
Commune Sokolov
Municipality Chodov
Elevation 418 m (1,371 ft)
Coordinates 50°14′29″N 12°44′38″E / 50.24139°N 12.74389°E / 50.24139; 12.74389Coordinates: 50°14′29″N 12°44′38″E / 50.24139°N 12.74389°E / 50.24139; 12.74389
Area 14.25 km2 (5.50 sq mi)
Population 14,838 (2006-07-03)
Density 1,041/km2 (2,696/sq mi)
First mentioned 1195
Mayor Patrik Pizinger
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 357 35
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Chodov (Sokolov District)
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.mestochodov.cz

Chodov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈxodof]; German: Chodau) is a town in the Sokolov District of the Czech Republic, on the border with the Karlovy Vary District (both districts lie within the Karlovy Vary Region). As of 2018, it has 13,547 inhabitants.[1] From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland.

History

Originally a Slavic settlement. Its name was derived from an old Slavic term "choda", which means a road. The Slavic colonisation was not successful and in the Middle Ages this part of Bohemia was colonised by Germans. In the 12th–13th century Chodau belongs to the monastery in Waldsassen and in the 14th–17th century is ruled locally from Loket (Elbogen). In 1894 Chodau is declared a town and gets the right to use its own coat of arms. Until the end of World War II the town was inhabited practically only by Germans, who were deported from Czechoslovakia after the war. In the '60s a big chemical factory was built 4 km from Chodov in Vřesová and then new districts were built for the Czech and Slovak workers who moved here.

Sights

Protestant church in Chodov

The most important of them is no doubt St. Lawrence Church, built by the constructor Brauenbock according to the plans of the architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. On the main altar there is a painting by the famous Czech-German artist Peter Johann Brandl. In front of the church we find a 17th-century statue of St. Sebastian and on the main square a statue of the Virgin Mary (1675). The other church in the town belongs to the Protestants, Czech Brethren. Close to the gate of the Protestant church there is a monument to war victims. It was re-erected in 1998 exactly 100 years after its first erection.

Notable residents

  • Wenzl Fritsch (1842-1916), who founded the town's first photographic studio in 1884.
  • Willi Huttig (March 28, 1909 - 27 December 2001), German photographer and alpinist.

References

  1. ↑ "Population of Municipalities". Czech Statistical Office. 1 January 2018. p. 52. Retrieved 7 June 2018.


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