Chodov (Sokolov District)

Chodov consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):{{cite web |title=Public Census 2021 – basic data|url=https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/en/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt-parametry&z=T&f=TABULKA&sp=A&skupId=4690&katalog=33475&pvo=SLD21043-CO|work=Public Database|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|language=cs|date=2022}}

• Chodov (12,154)
• Stará Chodovská (297)

The name is derived from the personal Slavic name Chod, meaning "the village of Chod's people".{{cite web |title=Původ názvu města Chodov u Karlových Varů|url=https://www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/puvod-nazvu-mesta-chodov-u-karlovych-varu|work=Ptejte se knihovny|publisher=National Library of the Czech Republic|language=cs|access-date=2022-07-19}}

Chodov is located about {{convert|9|km|0}} northeast of Sokolov and {{convert|7|km|0|abbr=on}} west of Karlovy Vary. It lies mostly in the Sokolov Basin, only the northernmost part of the municipal territory extends into the Ore Mountains and includes the highest point of Chodov at {{convert|521|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. The stream of Chodovský potok flows through the town. There are several bodies of water in the municipal territory, most notably the artificial lake Bílá voda, used for recreational purposes.

Chodov was originally a Slavic settlement. The Slavic colonisation was not successful and in the Middle Ages this part of Bohemia was colonised by Germans. In the 12th–13th century Chodov belonged to the Waldsassen Abbey and in the 14th–17th century was ruled from Loket. In 1894 Chodov was promoted to a town and got the right to use its own coat of arms.{{cite web |title=Z historie města Chodova|url=https://www.mestochodov.cz/infocentrum/historie-mesta-pamatky/|publisher=Město Chodov|language=cs|access-date=2021-06-04}}

From 1938 to 1945 it was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. Until the end of World War II the town was inhabited mostly by Germans. After the war, the German population was expelled and the town was resettled by Czechs. In the 1960s a big chemical factory was built in nearby Vřesová and then new housing estates were built for Czech and Slovak workers who moved here.

{{historical populations

|align=none|cols=3

|1869|2472

|1880|3389

|1890|5204

|1900|7104

|1910|7470

|1921|7035

|1930|7849

|1950|3786

|1961|4551

|1970|11798

|1980|14704

|1991|14929

|2001|14687

|2011|13748

|2021|12451

|source=Censuses{{cite web |title=Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011|url=https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/historicky-lexikon-obci-1869-az-2015|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|language=cs|date=2015-12-21}}{{cite web |title=Population Census 2021: Population by sex|url=https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/en/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt-parametry&z=T&f=TABULKA&sp=A&skupId=4429&katalog=33515&pvo=SLD21001-OB-OK|work=Public Database|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|date=2021-03-27}}}}

The largest employer based in the town is SKF Lubrication Systems CZ, a manufacturer of lubrication systems. It employs more than 500 people.{{cite web |title=Registr ekonomických subjektů|url=https://www.czso.cz/csu/res/registr_ekonomickych_subjektu|work=Business Register|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|language=cs|access-date=2023-06-07}}

Chodov lies on interregional railway lines Prague–Cheb and Plzeň–Karlovy Vary. In addition, it is connected to Loket by a short local line.{{cite web |title=Detail stanice Chodov|url=https://www.cd.cz/stanice/chodov/5474055|publisher=České dráhy|language=cs|access-date=2023-06-07}}

File:Chodof2.jpg

The most significant building is the Church of St. Lawrence, built by the constructor Johann Wolfgang Braunbock. It was built in the Baroque style in 1725–1733. In the interior there is a Stations of the Cross, which consists of fourteen large canvases. It is the work of regional artists from the 18th and 19th centuries, which is rare in its dimensions and its age.{{cite web |title=Kostel svatého Vavřince v Chodově|url=https://www.kudyznudy.cz/aktivity/kostel-svateho-vavrince-v-chodove|publisher=CzechTourism|language=cs|access-date=2022-07-19}}

In front of the church there is the early Baroque statue of St. Sebastian from 1673.{{cite web |title=Socha sv. Šebestiána|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/socha-sv-sebestiana-16192326|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2022-07-19}} Another early Baroque statue is the Virgin Mary on the Marian column from 1675, located on the town square.{{cite web |title=Chodov – sloup se sochou Panny Marie|url=https://www.pamatkyaprirodakarlovarska.cz/chodov-sloup-se-sochou-panny-marie|work=Památky a příroda Karlovarska|language=cs|access-date=2022-07-19}}

The other church in the town belongs to the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren.

• Willi Huttig (1909–2001), German photographer and alpinist
• Jana Nečasová (born 1964), politician and civil servant

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic}}

Chodov is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Partnerská města|url=https://www.mestochodov.cz/partnerska-mesta-2/|publisher=Město Chodov|language=cs|access-date=2019-08-24}}

• {{flagicon|GER}} Oelsnitz, Germany
• {{flagicon|GER}} Waldsassen, Germany

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{{commons category|Chodov (Sokolov District)}}

• {{official|https://www.mestochodov.cz/}}

{{Sokolov District}}

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Category:Cities and towns in the Czech Republic

Category:Populated places in Sokolov District