Sokolov

The charm and history of a mining town

Sokolov (until 1948 Falknov nad Ohří, German Falkenau an der Eger) is a town in the district of the same name in the Karlovy Vary Region, 18 km west of Karlovy Vary at the confluence of the Ohře and Svatava rivers in the middle of the Sokolov Basin. Its character is influenced by brown coal mining and related industries.

Sokolov Square

The first written mention of Sokolov dates back to April 13, 1279. It mentions the noble family of Nothaft. The relatively fertile land around the Ohře River had been cultivated for centuries by the Slavs, who had founded a number of settlements there. With German colonization from the 13th century onwards, the number of settlements and subjects increased, the area of cultivated land expanded, ore mining developed and the income of the monarch, the nobility and monasteries increased significantly. After an archaeological survey in 1994, it turned out that in the 13th century a stone castle stood on the site of the present-day castle. A smaller town was formed around it. Its importance only increased in the 19th century thanks to coal mining.

Brown coal was first mined by deep mining in areas with the highest quality of the seam, later it was switched to quarrying. In the 1980s, the volume of mining decreased. Now, the only entity managing the reserves of coal and other minerals in the Sokolov Basin is the Sokolov Coal Company. Coal was first used as the predominant source of heat, later as a raw material for the production of noble fuels, energy and chemical raw materials.The legend of the founding of Sokolov was portrayed by a certain Cheb sculptor (a townsman who allegedly founded Sokolí dvůr, from which Sokolov emerged) in the figure of a falconer on the town fountain. This stone fountain was installed in 1717, but is probably of older origin. T

he fountain's basin is decorated with small letters. According to legend, the falconer on the fountain with a dog at his feet and a falcon on his hand is the founder of the town - knight Sebastián. The fountain recalls the hop-growing tradition in the Sokolov region - hop branches grow around the column on which the statue is placed. At the time when the fountain was built, excellent hops were produced in the Sokolov region.

A popular tourist destination is the Sokolov Museum

Famous visitors to Sokolov include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and even Karel May