city, northwestern Czech Republic. It lies at the foot of the Ore Mountains (Krušné 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. (2007 est.) 49,817.