| En Name: | Bolkhov |
| Ru Name: | Болхов |
| Coordinates: | 53.45°N 37°W |
| Map Label Position: | bottom |
| Image Coa: | Bolkhov COA (Oryol Governorate) (1781).png |
| Federal Subject: | Oryol Oblast |
| Adm District Jur: | Bolkhovsky District |
| Adm Selsoviet Jur: | Bolkhov |
| Adm Selsoviet Type: | Town of district significance |
| Adm Ctr Of1: | Bolkhovsky District |
| Adm Ctr Of2: | town of district significance of Bolkhov |
| Inhabloc Cat: | Town |
| Mun District Jur: | Bolkhovsky Municipal District |
| Urban Settlement Jur: | Bolkhov Urban Settlement |
| Mun Admctr Of1: | Bolkhovsky Municipal District |
| Mun Admctr Of2: | Bolkhov Urban Settlement |
| Pop 2010Census: | 11421 |
| Established Date: | 1196 |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Postal Codes: | 303140, 303142 |
| Website: | http://www.bolhov-adm.ru/ |
Bolkhov (Russian: Бо́лхов) is a town and the administrative center of Bolkhovsky District in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Nugr River (Oka's tributary), 56km (35miles) from Oryol, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 12,800 (1969); 20,703 (1897).
Bolkhov was first documented in a chronicle from 1196.[1] After the Mongol invasion of Rus', it became the seat of a local princely dynasty, whose descendants may be traced until the 19th century. In the 16th century, it became one of the fortified posts for defending Moscow from the Tatars on the south. It was there that the army of Vasily IV was defeated by False Dmitry II in 1608.
During World War II, Bolkhov was occupied by the German Army from October 9, 1941 to July 28, 1943.
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Bolkhov serves as the administrative center of Bolkhovsky District.[2] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Bolkhovsky District as the town of district significance of Bolkhov. As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Bolkhov is incorporated within Bolkhovsky Municipal District as Bolkhov Urban Settlement.[3]
Bolkhov preserves four churches dating from the turn of the 18th century, including the five-domed Trinity Monastery Cathedral (1688-1706) and the Trinity church with an elongated belfry. By far the largest church in the city is the Savior's Transfiguration Cathedral, built in 1841–1851 to a design by one of Konstantin Thon's disciples.