Chodov

Chodov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈxodof]; German: Chodau) is a town in Sokolov District of the Czech Republic, on the border with the Karlovy Vary District (both districts lie within the Karlovy Vary Region). As of 2005, it has around 14,500 inhabitants. 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 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 locally ruled from Loket (Elbogen). In 1894 Chodau is declared to a town and gets a right to use its own coat of arms. Until the end of the WWII is the town inhabited...