Sokolov (, until 1948 Falknov nad Ohří; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Hrušková and Novina and area of former village of Vítkov are administrative parts of Sokolov. Etymology The meaning of the original German name Falkenau was "falcon's riparian forest", the original Czech name Falknov was created by transcription of the German name. According to legend, it was related to hobby of knight Sebastian, who is said to have been the founder of the town, of falconry. After the World War II, when it was customary to change names of German origin, the town was renamed Sokolov. According to communist propaganda at the time, the name was not related to a falcon (i.e. sokol in Czech), but to the Battle of Sokolovo in which Czechoslovak soldiers had fought alongside Soviet soldiers on the Eastern Front in World War II. Geography Sokolov is located about southwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies mostly in the Sokolov Basin. The eastern part of the municipal territory extends into the Slavkov Forest and includes the highest point of Sokolov, the hill Zelený močál at above sea level. The Ohře River flows through the town. On the eastern outskirts of the town there is Lake Michal, an artificial lake created by flooding of former coal quarry. It has an area of and serves for recreational purposes. History The first written mention of Sokolov is from 13 April 1279 under the name Falkenau / Falknov. The town was a property of noble families of Nothaft and later Schlick. The Schlick family built here a small castle, which was rebuilt to a château in the 16th century. After the Battle of White Mountain the Nostic family gained Sokolov. During the Thirty Years' War the town and the château was repeatedly burned out. The town and the château was recovered in the 1760s by Jan Hartvík Nostic. In the 18th century, there was a great expansion of urban crafts and hop growing. 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. 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.