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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.

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

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".

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

The old town mile is actually called "Old Square" (Staré námesti) and is the historical centre of Sokolov. At the eastern end you will find the Church of St. James the Greater, at the western end the Church of the Franciscan Monastery, which is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. In between are the Old Town Hall and the Marian Column, as well as the Jubilee Fountain and the Falconer's Fountain. And of course lots of shops, cafés and restaurants.

On hot days, this battery of water fountains is in operation almost non-stop. Nozzles in the ground shoot finely atomized water about one and a half meters into the air. The refreshment only lasts twenty seconds, but children in particular have fun with these water features.

The Jubilee Fountain, also known as the Schram Fountain, on the Old Square was unveiled on December 11, 1898 on the 50th anniversary of Franz Joseph I's accession to the throne. The important Schram family of entrepreneurs contributed financially to the fountain's construction, hence its second name in popular parlance. For years, the fountain was stored in the depot of the city museum until it was completely restored and returned to its original location near the church as part of the extensive reconstruction of the Old Square. It was re-inaugurated - almost a hundred years after its first inauguration - on October 27, 1998 on the occasion of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. A bronze bowl with a statue of three putti in a pyramid composition sits enthroned on a granite base. The work by the German sculptor Cuno von Uechtritz-Steinkirch is intended to symbolize the dominion of the waters.

The original old church from the 13th century (probably a simple and plain building) was destroyed by the Saxon army in May 1632. The new building around the still preserved torso of the tower, which began shortly afterwards, was in the Renaissance style, and another reconstruction in 1680/1681 under Jan Hartvik Nostice (builder of the castle and monastery) in the Baroque style. Originally a deanery church, St. James was elevated to the status of an archdeaconry church in 1672. The Baroque church is a single-nave church with a tower, which was built using forced labor by serfs. The interior of the church is mostly Baroque. Towards the end of the Second World War, an aerial bomb hit not far from the Eger Bridge. The blast wave destroyed all the church windows except one: the stained glass window of the Sacred Heart of Jesus behind the main altar above the statue of St. James, the patron saint of the church.