The best family-friendly hikes and walks around lake Medard

James the Greater (the Latin 'major' is not translated as 'great' in English), to whom this church/chapel in ___ was dedicated, belongs, together with his brother, to the closest circle of Jesus' disciples. In his version of the "Good News" (this is the meaning of the word "gospel"), the Evangelist Mark enumerates a list of the apostles: "James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James—to whom he called the Boanerges, which means sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). They are said to have had very temperamental characters, but were faithful followers of Jesus Christ, in whom they recognized the promised Messiah. According to the Acts of the Apostles, James was executed for his faith. His tomb in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (Spain), is one of the most famous and important pilgrimage destinations in the world.

Saint John of Nepomuk was a priest (Vicar General of the Archbishop) in Bohemia who died a martyr's death in Prague in 1393. By royal order, he was thrown from Prague's Charles Bridge into the Vltava River and drowned. His statue can still be found on or near many bridges today—as is the case here over the Ohře River. He is not only considered a popular "bridge saint" but also the patron saint of the seal of confession. In many depictions of him, he holds a cross in one hand, sometimes placing a finger to his lips with the other as a sign of silence (which was heard during confession). In this depiction, however, his other hand holds a palm branch, which in Christian iconography is the sign of martyrdom. The feast day of Saint John of Nepomuk in the calendar of saints is March 20.

The patronage of this church was not conferred on one of the (almost infinite) number of saints, but entrusted to the protection of the "Holy Trinity." Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger, 1927 to 2022) uttered the following words about that mystery of faith, which in Christianity, across all denominations, we venerate the ONE God in THREE Persons: "On the Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Through the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand the words of Jesus and leads us to all truth, believers can, so to speak, gain knowledge of the innermost being of God and thereby discover that He is by no means infinite solitude, but a communion of light and love, life given and received in an eternal dialogue between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit—lover, beloved, and love, to use the words of St. Augustine." (Address by Pope Benedict XVI, at the Angelus on 11 June 2006)

A visit to the old town of Sokolov is also worthwhile.

A memorial plaque at the entrance to the castle courtyard commemorates the American film director and actor Samuel Fuller (1912 to 1997). As a soldier in the 1st Infantry Division of the US Army, he took part in the liberation of Sokolov in World War II in 1945. In 1980, Fuller, who became known through westerns such as "Forty Rifles" with Barbara Stanwyck, made the film "The Big Red One" based on his war memories. That was the nickname of his unit.

Medard is a reclamation lake. It was created as a project to revitalize the area affected by coal mining of the former Medard and Libík open-cast mines, which were merged into a single one during the mining process, later called Medard-Libík. Mining in this area was stopped on March 31, 2000. Filling of the lake began in 2008, and the planned water level was reached in 2016. Since 2020, it has been the largest artificial lake in the Czech Republic. Five villages in the Medard-Libík area disappeared during the open-cast mining: Čistá u Svatava, Dvory, Kolonie Hahnemannova, Kytlice and Lísková. The new lake is also called "Sokolov Sea".

On the 100th anniversary of the founding of independent Czechoslovakia on October 28, 2018, the "Alley of Friendship" was created on Lake Medard. It is also the winning avenue in the ranking of the non-profit organization Arnika "Alley of the Year 2018". The "Alley of Friendship" was planted with one hundred fifteen-year-old winter oaks. It is half a kilometer long. One hundred families from the Karlovy Vary region planted the avenue. Each family paid 2500 crowns (about one hundred euros) for their tree. Young oaks are around four meters high and weigh seventy kilograms. Plastic buckets for watering give passers-by the opportunity to contribute to the success of the avenue. The memorial stone "Alej přátelství" commemorates the action.

The bridge leads over the Ohře river, the main road and the railway line. It connects the Antonín Arboretum park with Lake Medard.