Maria column in Chodov, Religious monument in Chodov, Czech Republic

The Maria column in Chodov stands on a pedestrian zone at the crossing of Staroměstská and Komenského streets. A square granite base with three steps carries a prismatic granite plinth bearing the Plankenheim coat of arms and a stylized flower dated ANNO 1675. The Corinthian shaft is wrapped by a left-turning leafy vine, and on a cloud with angel heads stands a bareheaded Virgin Mary with clasped hands and a billowing cloak, facing west.

The column was erected on 3 June 1675 at the southwestern edge of Chodov, on the road to Vintířov, by Jan Vilém of Plankenheim, then owner of the Chodov estate, in honour of the Virgin Mary. It was consecrated on 4 March 1704 by Johann Carl Pellet de Hund, rural vicar of the Loket archbishopric. Moved before 1927 and again in 1975 for heating-pipe works, it was pulled down by a vandal in October 1991; the stolen statue was replaced in 1993–1994 by a copy in artificial stone by Jan Bradna and Jiří Novotný, and the column now stands on the pedestrian zone at Staroměstská and Komenského streets.

The granite base carries the coat of arms of the Plankenheim family and a stylised flower dated ANNO 1675. The statue of the Virgin Mary, bareheaded with clasped hands and a billowing cloak, faces west. A low metal railing and an ornamental flower bed now surround the column on the pedestrian zone at the corner of Staroměstská and Komenského streets.

The column is located on Staroměstská Street in central Chodov and is easily accessible on foot. It stands in public space and can be visited at any time without special arrangements needed.

The monument bears catalogue number 1000139363 in the Czech registry and belongs to a series of religious columns that shaped the appearance of many Czech towns. Such monuments were expressions of a wave of Baroque popular piety that characterized Bohemia after the 17th century.