Loket (Benešov District)

Loket is a municipality and village in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.

Loket
Municipality
Brzotice, a part of Loket
Loket Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°39′20″N 15°7′0″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Central Bohemian
District	Benešov
First mentioned	1352
Area
• Total	23.88 km2 (9.22 sq mi)
Elevation	450 m (1,480 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	620
• Density	26/km2 (67/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal codes	257 65, 257 68
Website	www.obecloket.cz

Administrative division

Loket consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Loket (164)
• Alberovice (75)
• Bezděkov (35)
• Brzotice (117)
• Kačerov (23)
• Němčice (61)
• Radíkovice (22)
• Všebořice (98)

Bezděkov, Radíkovice and Všebořice form an exclave of the municipal territory.

Etymology

The word loket means 'elbow' in Czech. The name referred to a bend in the road that passed through the area, in which the village was founded.^[3]

Geography

Loket is located about 34 kilometres (21 mi) southeast of Benešov and 61 km (38 mi) southeast of Prague. It lies in the Křemešník Highlands. The highest point is a hill at 534 m (1,752 ft) above sea level. The village of Němčice is situated on the shore of the Němčice Reservoir. The exclave of the municipality is situated on the shore of the Švihov Reservoir.

History

The first written mention of Loket is from 1352.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 1,972 —     1880 1,950 −1.1% 1890 1,944 −0.3% 1900 1,950 +0.3% 1910 1,831 −6.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 1,768 −3.4% 1930 1,538 −13.0% 1950 1,207 −21.5% 1961 946 −21.6% 1970 890 −5.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 708 −20.4% 1991 611 −13.7% 2001 560 −8.3% 2011 575 +2.7% 2021 595 +3.5%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Transport

The D1 motorway from Prague to Brno passes through the municipality.

Sights

Church of Saint Giles

The most important monument of the municipality is the Church of Saint Giles in Všebořice. The core of the building probably dates from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. Next to the church is a separate wooden bell tower from the beginning of the 16th century.^[7]

The main historical landmark of the village of Loket is a chapel dating from 1911.^[4]

Notable people

• Zdeněk Fibich (1850–1900), composer