Sokolov, Czech Republic
Sokolov | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Sokolov Château | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Sokolov Location in the Czech Republic | |
| Coordinates: 50°10′53″N 12°38′25″E / 50.18139°N 12.64028°E | |
| Country |  Czech Republic |
| Region | Karlovy Vary |
| District | Sokolov |
| First mentioned | 1279 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Petr Kubis (ANO 2011) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 22.92 km2 (8.85 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 401 m (1,316 ft) |
| Population (2022-01-01)[1] | |
| • Total | 22,097 |
| • Density | 960/km2 (2,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 356 01 |
| Website | www |
Sokolov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈsokolof], until 1948 Falknov nad Ohří; German: Falkenau an der Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Hrušková and Novina and area of former village of Vítkov are administrative parts of Sokolov.
Etymology
The meaning of the original German name Falkenau was "falcon's riparian forest", the original Czech name Falknov was created by transcription of the German name. According to legend, it was related to hobby of knight Sebastian, who is said to have been the founder of the town, of falconry. After the World War II, when it was customary to change names of German origin, the town was renamed Sokolov. According to communist propaganda at the time, the name was not related to a falcon (i.e. sokol in Czech), but to the Battle of Sokolovo in which Czechoslovak soldiers had fought alongside Soviet soldiers on the Eastern Front in World War II.[2]
Geography
Sokolov is located about 16 kilometres (10 mi) southwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies mostly in the Sokolov Basin. The eastern part of the municipal territory extends into the Slavkov Forest and includes the highest point of Sokolov, the hill Zelený močál at 797 metres (2,615 ft) above sea level. The Ohře River flows through the town.
On the eastern outskirts of the town there is Lake Michal, an artificial lake created by flooding of former coal quarry. It has an area of 30 hectares (74 acres) and serves for recreational purposes.[3]
History
The first written mention of Sokolov is from 13 April 1279 under the name Falkenau / Falknov. The town was a property of noble families of Nothaft and later Schlick. The Schlick family built here a small castle, which was rebuilt to a château in the 16th century.[4]
After the Battle of White Mountain the Nostic family gained Sokolov. During the Thirty Years' War the town and the château was repeatedly burned out. The town and the château was recovered in the 1760s by Jan Hartvík Nostic. In the 18th century, there was a great expansion of urban crafts and hop growing.[4]
Until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austrian side after the compromise of 1867), head of the Falkenau a.d. Eger District, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia.[5] In 1919, the town, being part of the continuous German Sprachraum, was proclaimed part of the Republic of German-Austria, but shortly afterwards became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic.
From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland. During World War II, Falkenau was the site of a sub-camp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp. The camp at Falkenau was captured by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division on 6 May 1945. Nearly all of the town's population, being Germans, were expelled after 1945.
Demographics
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| Source: Censuses[6][7] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transport
The D6 motorway runs through the town.
Sport
The town is home to a professional football club, FK Baník Sokolov.
Sights
The Church of Saint James the Great is one of the landmarks of the town centre. It was first documented in the 13th century and rebuilt in the late Renaissance style in 1632–1637. In 1671–1681, it was modified in the early Baroque style. The church tower is built in the spirit of the Saxon Renaissance.[8]
The Sokolov Château was built on the site of a former water fortress in late Renaissance and early Baroque styles. In 1800–1805, the building was modified in the Neoclassical style. Since 1960, the château has been the seat of the Regional Museum, focused mainly on the development of mining and the history of the region.[9]
Notable people
- Ernst Hammer (1884–1957), German military officer
- Václav Blažek (born 1959), historical linguist
- Štefan Füle (born 1962), diplomat
- Markéta Vondroušová (born 1999), tennis player
Twin towns – sister cities
Saalfeld, Germany- Schwandorf, Germany
References
- ^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2022". Czech Statistical Office. 2022-04-29.
- ^ "Proč před 70 lety přejmenovali Falknov na Sokolov? Odpoví kniha" (in Czech). iDnes. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ "Historie nádrže" (in Czech). Lake Michal. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ a b "Historie města Sokolov" (in Czech). Město Sokolov. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
- ^ Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm Klein, 1967
- ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Sokolov" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 9–10.
- ^ "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
- ^ "Kostel sv. Jakuba" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ "Zámek Sokolov – Krajské muzeum v Sokolově na zámku rodu Nosticů" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ "Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Sokolov. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
External links
- Official website
- Regional Tourist Portal (in Czech)
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