| Stochov | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Bohemian |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kladno |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 50.1464°N 13.9636°W |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Roman Foršt |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1316 |
| Area Total Km2: | 9.54 |
| Elevation M: | 448 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 5354 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 273 03 |
Stochov (in Czech pronounced as /ˈstoxof/; German: Stochau) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants.
The villages of Čelechovice and Honice are administrative parts of Stochov.
According to legend, the name is derived from sto chův (i.e. "hundred nannies") and refers to nannies, who take care here of young Saint Wenceslaus.[2] In fact, the name is derived from the personal name Stoch, meaning "Stoch's (court)".[3]
Stochov is located about 9km (06miles) west of Kladno and 29km (18miles) west of Prague. It lies in the Džbán range. The Loděnice River flows along the northern municipal border.
The first written mention of Stochov is from 1316. It used to be a small village until the second half of 20th century, when a large housing estate was built west of Stochov to accommodate the increasing number of people working in coal mines in the Kladno area in the 1950s and 1960s. Subsequently, Stochov gained town status in 1967.[4]
The D6 motorway from Prague to Karlovy Vary runs through the municipal territory.
Stochov is located on the railway line Prague–Rakovník via Kladno.[5]
According to legend, Saint Wenceslaus was born in Stochov and his grandmother Saint Ludmila then planted an oak tree to commemorate this event. The aged and half withered oak tree, estimated to be about 700–1,000 years old and called Saint Wenceslaus' Oak (Svatováclavský dub), is the main sight of the town, and is considered to be one of the oldest and most significant trees in the Czech Republic.[6] [7]
A sandstone statue of St. Wenceslaus from 1887 stands in front of the oak tree.[7]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic. Stochov is twinned with:[8]
Bourbon-Lancy, France