Stará Voda (Cheb District)

Stará Voda (Altwasser) is a municipality and village in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The villages of Sekerské Chalupy and Vysoká are administrative parts of Stará Voda.

Etymology
The name means 'old water'.

Geography
Stará Voda is located about 17 km southeast of Cheb and 32 km southwest of Karlovy Vary, on the border with Germany. The eastern part of the municipal territory with the village of Stará Voda lies in the Upper Palatine Forest Foothills, but most of the municipality lies in the Upper Palatine Forest. The highest point is the second highest peak of the entire Upper Palatine Forest, Dyleň at 940 m above sea level.

History
The first written mention of Stará Voda is from 1380.

Transport
The I/21 road, which connects the D5 and D6 motorways, passes through the municipality.

The main railway line Prague–Cheb via Plzeň runs through the municipal territory. The train station named Lázně Kynžvart, which serves mainly the neighbouring town of Lázně Kynžvart, is located in the territory of Stará Voda.

Sights
The main landmark of the municipality is the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Vysoká. It was originally a Romanesque-Gothic building from the mid-13th century. It was gradually rebuilt and modified until 1847. In 1982, the roof was taken off and only the tower was preserved.