Stod (Plzeň-South District)

Stod (Staab) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Lelov is an administrative part of Stod.

Geography
Stod is located about 18 km southwest of Plzeň. It lies on the border between the Plasy Uplands and Švihov Highlands. The highest point is a nameless hill at 460 m above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the Radbuza and Merklínka rivers.

History
The first written mention of Stod is from 1235, when King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia left the village to the Chotěšov Abbey. In 1315, John of Bohemia promoted the village to a market town. By the period of King Charles IV in 1363, the town acquired more privileges, such as a judiciary, the right to use a town seal, and to keep the town's books. In 1544 the town was granted the privilege of establishing a malt-house and a brewery. By 1547 there was a post office and in 1550 Ferdinand I allowed the town to stage an annual fair.

The market town was set back by the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War. By 1654, only about 230 residents remained in Stod. Consequently, tracts of land were distributed to German families from Bavaria to repopulate the region, which led to Germanization of Stod. By 1850, Stod had grown to approximately 1,500 residents and was promoted to a town.

In 1863, a group of 83 people from Stod, led by the former military officer Martin Krippner, left to settle Puhoi in New Zealand.

In 1938, the town was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland. After World War II, most of the German population was expelled.

Transport
Stod is located on the railway line Plzeň–Domažlice.

Sport
The Prague–Plzeň–Regensburg cycle route passes through the town.

Sights
The main landmark of Stod is the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. It was built in the Neoclassical style on the site of an older church in 1841–1843.

Near the church is the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk. It is a baroque chapel from the early 18th century, which belonged to a now non-existent hospital.

Notable people

 * Arthur Salz (1881–1963), German sociologist and economist
 * Ilona Uhlíková-Voštová (born 1954), table tennis player
 * Pavel Soukup (born 1971), athlete