Sokolov District

Sokolov District (Czech: okres Sokolov) is a district in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Sokolov.

Sokolov District Okres Sokolov
District
Location in the Karlovy Vary Region within the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°13′N 12°38′E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Karlovy Vary
Capital	Sokolov
Area [1]
• Total	753.71 km2 (291.01 sq mi)
Population  (2024)[2]
• Total	85,670
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities	38
* Towns	13
* Market towns	1

Administrative division

Sokolov District is divided into two administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence: Sokolov and Kraslice.

List of municipalities

Towns are marked in bold:

Březová - Bublava - Bukovany - Chlum Svaté Maří - Chodov - Citice - Dasnice - Dolní Nivy - Dolní Rychnov - Habartov - Horní Slavkov - Jindřichovice - Josefov - Kaceřov - Krajková - Královské Poříčí - Kraslice - Krásno - Kynšperk nad Ohří - Libavské Údolí - Loket - Lomnice - Nová Ves - Nové Sedlo - Oloví - Přebuz - Rotava - Rovná - Šabina - Šindelová - Sokolov - Staré Sedlo - Stříbrná - Svatava - Tatrovice - Těšovice - Vintířov - Vřesová

Geography

Oloví and surrounding landscape

Sokolov District borders Germany in the north. The terrain is characterized by two mountain ranges with a forested landscape, between which there is an unforested depression. The territory extends into five geomorphological mesoregions: Ore Mountains (north), Sokolov Basin (centre), Slavkov Forest (south), Cheb Basin (small part in the west) and Fichtel Mountains (very small part in the northwest). The highest point of the district is the mountain Špičák in Stříbrná with an elevation of 995 m (3,264 ft). The lowest point is the river bed of the Ohře in Loket at 374 m (1,227 ft).

From the total district area of 753.7 km² (291.0 sq mi), agricultural land occupies 209.0 km² (80.7 sq mi), forests occupy 390.1 km² (150.6 sq mi), and water area occupies 17.4 km² (6.7 sq mi). Forests cover 51.8% of the district's area.^[1]

The most important river is the Ohře, which flows across the district from west to east and drains the entire territory. Its longest tributary in the district is the Svatava. The Teplá River forms part of the southeastern district border. There are several water reservoirs and artificial lakes created by reclamation after coal mining. The largest body of water is Medard Lake.

In the district is one protected landscape area, located in the south of the district: Slavkovský les.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 89,483 —     1880 97,483 +8.9% 1890 108,134 +10.9% 1900 127,488 +17.9% 1910 141,448 +11.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 136,452 −3.5% 1930 145,847 +6.9% 1950 66,695 −54.3% 1961 79,210 +18.8% 1970 90,289 +14.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 95,444 +5.7% 1991 92,623 −3.0% 2001 93,607 +1.1% 2011 89,961 −3.9% 2021 83,987 −6.6%
Source: Censuses[3][4]

Most populated municipalities

Name	Population[2]	Area (km2)
Sokolov	22,155	23
Chodov	12,649	14
Kraslice	6,573	81
Horní Slavkov	5,438	37
Habartov	4,717	21
Kynšperk nad Ohří	4,496	23
Loket	3,071	27
Rotava	2,798	12
Březová	2,604	60
Nové Sedlo	2,557	17

Economy

The largest employers with headquarters in Sokolov District and at least 500 employees are:^[5]

Economic entity	Location	Number of employees	Main activity
Sokolovská uhelná	Sokolov	1,000–1,499	Coal mining
SKF Lubrication Systems CZ	Chodov	500–999	Manufacture of lubrication systems

Transport

The D6 motorway from Karlovy Vary to Cheb (part of the European routes E48 and E49) passes through the district.

Sights

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Mary Magdalene

The most important monuments in the district, protected as national cultural monuments, are:^[6]

• Jeroným Mine in Podstrání
• Artificial water channel Dlouhá stoka (partly)
• Pilgrimage area Chlum Svaté Maří with the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Mary Magdalene

The best-preserved settlements, protected as monument reservations and monument zones, are:^[7]

• Loket (monument reservation)
• Horní Slavkov
• Dolní Rychnov
• Královské Poříčí

The most visited tourist destination is the Loket Castle.^[8]

Notable people

Main category: People from Sokolov District