Stod (Czech Republic)


Stod is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. It lies some south-west from the region capital of Plzeň upon the Radbuza River.
Stod is also the seat of the Municipality with Extended Competence.

History

The first written mention of Stod dates from 1235, when Wenceslaus I of Bohemia left the village to the monastery Chotěšov. In 1315 John of Bohemia raised the villages status to that of a market town. By the period of Charles IV in 1363, the town acquired more privileges, such as a judiciary, the right to use a city seal, and to keep the city'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 granted Ferdinand I allowed the town to stage an annual fair.
The town was set back by the turmoil of the Thirty Years War. By 1654, the settlement was almost deserted, with only about 230 residents. Consequently tracts of land were distributed to German families from Bavaria to repopulate the region.
By 1850 Stod had grown to approximately 1500 residents and the town received civic rights. The town was the seat of a local District Court. At this time some local German peasants could not afford to buy land so in 1863 a small group, led by a former Austrian army officer named Captain Martin Krippner, left to settle Puhoi in New Zealand.
In 1938 the town was part of the Sudetenland annexed by Nazi Germany. After World War II, the German population was stripped of their property and expelled following the Beneš decrees.
Between 1949 and 1960 there were various local government reforms following the massive population changes.