Sokolov, Czech Republic

Sokolov
Sokolov; Falknov nad Ohří (until 1948)
	Town
	Château
	Flag Coat of arms
	Sokolov Location in the Czech Republic
	Coordinates: 50°10′53″N 12°38′25″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Karlovy Vary
District	Sokolov
First mentioned	1279
Government
• Mayor	Renata Oulehlová (ANO 2011)
Area
• Total	22.9 km2 (8.8 sq mi)
Elevation	401 m (1,316 ft)
Population (2019-01-01[1])
• Total	23,241
• Density	1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	356 01
Website	www.sokolov.cz

Sokolov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈsokolof]), Falknov nad Ohří until 1948 (Czech pronunciation: [ˈfalknof ˈnat oɦr̝iː]; German: Falkenau an der Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, located to the northeast of Cheb. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.

See other uses of Sokolov.

History

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.[2]

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 May 6, 1945. Nearly all of the town's population, being Germans, were expelled after 1945.

Sport

The town is home to a professional football club, FK Baník Sokolov.

Notable people

Václav Blažek, Czech historical linguist
Štefan Füle, Czech diplomat
Ernst Hammer, German military officer
Markéta Vondroušová, Czech tennis player

Twin towns — sister cities

Sokolov is twinned with:[3]

Saalfeld, Germany
Schwandorf, Germany

References

"Population of municipalities of the Czech republic". Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm KLEIN, 1967
"Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Sokolov. Retrieved 2019-08-22.

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[1] "Population of municipalities of the Czech republic". Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2019-04-30.

[2] Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm KLEIN, 1967

[3] "Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Sokolov. Retrieved 2019-08-22.