Chomutov | |
|---|---|
 General view from the northwest | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Chomutov Location in the Czech Republic | |
| Coordinates:50°27′40″N13°25′0″E / 50.46111°N 13.41667°E /50.46111; 13.41667 | |
| Country |  Czech Republic |
| Region | Ústí nad Labem |
| District | Chomutov |
| First mentioned | 1252 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Milan Petrilák (ANO) |
| Area | |
• Total | 29.25 km2 (11.29 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 340 m (1,120 ft) |
| Population (2025-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 46,771 |
| • Density | 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 430 01, 430 03, 430 04 |
| Website | www |
Chomutov (Czech pronunciation:[ˈxomutof]ⓘ;German:Komotau) is a city in theÚstí nad Labem Region of theCzech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as anurban monument zone.
Chomutov consists of only one municipal part and is the only such Czech statutory city.[2]
The name is derived from the personal name Chomút/Chomout, meaning "Chomout's (court)". The wordchomút, from which the personal name arise, denoted a clumsy person in Old Czech.[3]
Chomutov is located about 78 kilometres (48 mi) northwest ofPrague. It lies on theChomutovka River in theOre Mountains Foothills. The surface is mostly flat with some hills in the north and southeast of the city. The highest point of the municipal territory is Hůrka 581 m (1,906 ft), a hill on the northwestern municipal border.
There are several bodies of water on the outskirts of the city. LakeKamencové jezero and the fishpond Velký Otvický rybník are used for recreational purposes.
The first written mention of Chomutov is a deed of gift from 1252, when it came into the possession of theTeutonic Order. The Gothic church of St. Catherine built during that era still stands to this day. In 1396 Chomutov received a town charter, and in 1416 the knights sold both the town and the lordship toWenceslaus IV.[4]
On 16 March 1421, the town was stormed, sacked and burned by theTaborites. After several upheavals and changes of ownership, Chomutov was taken by Popel of Lobkowitz in 1588, who establishedJesuit rule, leading to trouble between theProtestant citizens and the town's new overlord.[5] In 1594 the feudal lordship fell to thecrown, and in 1605 the town purchased its freedom and was made a royal city. After theThirty Years' War, Chomutov stagnated.[6] Rapid development did not come until the second half of the 19th century, with advances in the mining and heavy industries.
By 1938, Chomutov had over 30,000 inhabitants. It had a population comprising about 95% ethnic Germans. A very small Jewish population (444 in 1930 – 1.3% of the total population) came under increasing pressure, and Chomutov was declared "Judenrein" on 23 September 1938 by the increasingly pro-Nazi administration.[7] A week later, Chomutov and its surrounding districts were annexed byNazi Germany as a result of the 1938Munich Agreement and administered as part of theReichsgau Sudetenland.
After 1945, the previous population, German by a large majority, wasexpelled.[8] Industrial facilities and large high-rise housing projects were then built to redevelop the area. In the late 1970s an urban settlement was built, linking Chomutov with its neighbouringJirkov. Following theVelvet Revolution of 1989, the heavy industry significantly decreased its activity, but the environment in and around the town has been visibly improved. The leisure facilities of the area were emphasised, notablyAlum Lake, theZoopark Chomutov[9] and the Bezručovo Valley recreational area.
Since 1 July 2006, Chomutov has been astatutory city.
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: Censuses[10][11] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The largest employer with headquarters in Chomutov isSeveročeské doly, a lignite mining company with more than 2,500 employees. Among other large industrial companies based in the city isParker Hannifin Industrial, a manufacturer of hydraulic and pneumatic systems.[12]
TheD7 motorway from Prague to the Czech-german border inHora Svatého Šebestiána runs through the western part of Chomutov. In Chomutov it crosses with the I/13 road (part of theEuropean route E442) fromKarlovy Vary toLiberec.
Chomutov is located at the crossroads of several important railway lines:Prague–Cheb,Plzeň–Most,Děčín–Kadaň andRakovník–Jirkov. The city is served by two train station:Chomutov andChomutov město.[13]
Transport around Chomutov is operated by buses since 1995 and also bytrolleybuses.[14] The trolleybus net connects Chomutov with neighbouring Jirkov. They jointly operate a transport company (Dopravní podnik měst Chomutova a Jirkova).[15]
Chomutov is home to the ice hockey clubPiráti Chomutov, playing in thesecond tier, and association football clubFC Chomutov, playing in theBohemian Football League (third tier).
The city has two sport areas: Zadní Vinohrady, where the water park, football and athletics stadium are located,[16] and Domovinka in the area of the formermotorcycle speedway stadium, with two multifunctional courts for tennis, basketball and volleyball and artificially constructed hills for sledding and bobsledding.[17]
Since 1992, the historical city centre has beenurban monument zone. The historical centre is in the shape of an oblong, and is surrounded byarcades. The 1. máje Square with its Baroque Column of the Holy Trinity by Ambrož Laurentis from 1697 is banked by seven statues of saints built between 1725 and 1732.[18]
The city hall is situated in the northwest side and it used to be a commendam until 1607. The city hall is situated next to the Church of St. Catherine built in early Gothic style and finished in 1281.
On the opposite side there is the Church of Assumption of the Virgin Mary, built in late Gothic style between 1518 and 1542. The church is situated next to the 53.7 m (176 ft) tall dominant of the city, the City Tower. The tower was renovated after the fire in 1525 and rebuilt to neo-Gothic style in 1874. Nowadays it is used as an observation tower.[19]
At the end of the south side there is theBaroque Church of Saint Ignatius with two towers on the north frontage. The church was built for Jesuits by Carlo Lurago between 1663 and 1668. The building calledŠpejchar from the 17th century was used by Jesuits as earlier church and it adjoins the east side of the Church of St. Ignatius. Nowadays it is used as a gallery.[18]
There is the Jesuit college south of the Church of St. Ignatius from the 16th and 17th century, which nowadays houses the city museum. The most important building from the Gothic residential houses is the late Gothic house No. 9.
TheZoopark Chomutov borders with the Alum Lake on its north side. The zoo is focused mostly on breeding European and mainly domestic wild animals (wolf,european bison, etc.). The zoo is the largest in the country by area, with an area of 112 hectares (280 acres).[20]
Bezručovo Valley is a deep, 13 km (8 mi) long woody valley of the Chomutovka River, beginning in the northern part of the territory of Chomutov. It is a popular place for trips.[21]
Annaberg-Buchholz, GermanyBernburg, Germany
Trnava, Slovakia
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
