Loket

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Town in the Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic

title: "Loket" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-and-towns-in-the-karlovy-vary-region", "populated-places-in-sokolov-district"] description: "Town in the Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loket" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in the Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Loket
settlement_type	Town
image_skyline	Loket město s hradem (3).jpg
image_caption	Skyline of Loket
image_flag	Loket prapor.gif
image_shield	Loket_Sokolov_znak.png
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Karlovy Vary
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_name2	Sokolov
pushpin_map	Czech Republic
pushpin_relief	1
pushpin_map_caption	Location in the Czech Republic
coordinates
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Zdeněk Bednář
established_title	First mentioned
established_date	1234
area_total_km2	26.73
elevation_m	427
population_as_of	2025-01-01
population_footnotes
population_total	3050
population_density_km2	auto
timezone1	CET
utc_offset1	+1
timezone1_DST	CEST
utc_offset1_DST	+2
postal_code_type	Postal code
postal_code	357 33
website
::

Administrative division

Loket consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):

Loket (2,755)
Dvory (21)
Nadlesí (68)
Údolí (92)

Etymology

Both Loket and Elbogen mean "elbow" in Czech and German, respectively. The town got its name due to the town centre being surrounded on three sides by the Ohře River, and the shape the river takes is similar to that of an elbow.

Geography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Loket_-_Ohře.jpg" caption="The Ohře River below the castle"] ::

Loket is located about 6 km east of Sokolov and 8 km southwest of Karlovy Vary. It lies mostly in the Slavkov Forest, only the northwestern part of the town extends into the Sokolov Basin. The highest point is the hill Zelenáč at 707 m above sea level. The Ohře River flows through the town.

History

In the second half of the 12th century, a royal castle Loket was built on a landmark promontory within the Ohře River bend. It used to be called the "Key to the Kingdom of Bohemia". Soon after, a small town, first mentioned in 1234, arose below the castle.

In the early 15th century the royal town was fortified and turned into an important focal point of the Bohemian Crown. In the course of the 19th century, the town became famous for its local porcelain factory. However, industrial production was located in the surrounding towns.

From 1938 to 1945, Loket was occupied by Nazi Germany and administered as part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland. In 1945, the German population was expelled according to the Beneš decrees. In the late 20th century, the castle underwent a complete reconstruction and was subsequently open to the public.

Demographics

|align=none|cols=3 |1869|4179 |1880|4120 |1890|4663 |1900|5538 |1910|5104 |1921|4716 |1930|5083 |1950|2664 |1961|2595 |1970|2037 |1980|1833 |1991|2989 |2001|3202 |2011|2978 |2021|2936 |source=Censuses}}

Transport

Loket is the starting point of the railway line to Chomutov.

Culture

Loket hosts an annual opera festival, which takes place in an open-air amphitheatre with the castle as a backdrop. The festival, called Loketské kulturní léto ("Loket Cultural Summer"), was established in 2000. The amphitheatre has a capacity of 1,800 seated spectators.

Sport

Loket hosts the annual Czech Motocross Grand Prix.

Sights

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Hrad_Loket_květen_2019_(2).jpg" caption="Loket Castle"] ::

The most visited historical monument in the town is Romanesque Loket Castle. In the days of the House of Luxembourg, the castle served as a temporary residence of members of the royal family. During the Thirty Years' War it was conquered and plundered by Swedish troops. The abandoned castle burned down in 1725, and was rebuilt into a regional jail in 1822.

The Church of Saint Wenceslaus was built in the Baroque style in 1701–1734. It replaced an older Gothic church.

In popular culture

Loket was used, in conjunction with Karlovy Vary, to portray a Montenegrin town in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.

Loket fielded an assignment at Loket Castle and Svatoš rocks during the finale of the 21st season of the Dutch reality television series Wie is de Mol?.

Notable people

Ferdinand Pfohl (1862–1949), German music critic and composer
Wolfgang von Schwind (1879–1949), Austrian actor and opera singer

Twin towns – sister cities

Loket is twinned with:

GER Illertissen, Germany

References

(2025-05-16). "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2025". [[Czech Statistical Office]].
(2022). "Public Census 2021 – basic data". [[Czech Statistical Office]].
"Vítejte ve městě plném historie, kultury a cestovního ruchu". Město Loket.
(2015-12-21). "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011". [[Czech Statistical Office]].
(2021-03-27). "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". [[Czech Statistical Office]].
"Detail stanice Loket". [[České dráhy]].
"Úvodem". Loketské kulturní léto.
"Amfiteátr Loket – akce". Město Loket.
"Grand Prix České republiky". AMK Loket.
"Z historie hradu Loket". Loket Castle.
"Kostel sv. Václava". National Heritage Institute.
Piotr Zając. (2018-02-13). "'Casino Royale' in Loket, Czech Republic".
Frank Andriga. (30 January 2021). "In de voetsporen van Wie is de Mol 2021: Tsjechië".
"Zahraniční vztahy". Město Loket.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::