Sokolov District Okres Sokolov
District
Location in the Karlovy Vary Region within the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°13′N 12°38′E / 50.217°N 12.633°E / 50.217; 12.633
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Karlovy Vary
Capital	Sokolov
Area ^[1]
• Total	753.71 km² (291.01 sq mi)
Population (2023)^[2]
• Total	85,964
• Density	110/km² (300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities	38
* Towns	13
* Market towns	1

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

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

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 991 m (3,251 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 area 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.

There 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	22,227	23
Chodov	12,733	14
Kraslice	6,614	81
Horní Slavkov	5,388	37
Habartov	4,729	21
Kynšperk nad Ohří	4,568	23
Loket	3,075	27
Rotava	2,844	12
Březová	2,638	60
Nové Sedlo	2,598	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

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]

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