CHOMUTOV

German Komotau, city, Severocesk kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies at the foot of the Ore Mountains (Krun hory) near the German border, northwest of Prague. Probably Czech in origin, Chomutov was a command post of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century and remained German until the end of World War II. It is a manufacturing centre with iron and steel industries and a rail junction at the western end of the northern Bohemian coal basin, a lignite-mining area. Pop. (1994 est.) 52,500.