The Karlovy Vary massif consists of various types of granite rocks. The one in Loket is one of the oldest and is so characteristic that it was called Loket granite. At first glance, the rock is striking with its large crystals of potassium feldspar. In most cases, these are not individual crystals, but rather clusters of two individuals, so-called twins. The crystals do not grow together randomly, but according to the so-called Karlovy Vary law. As a result, they always look the same. This mineralogical curiosity was described by Johann Wolfgang Goethe in 1807 in a special treatise on the minerals of the Karlovy Vary area. We can study the Loket granite directly in the castle courtyard, where it is also penetrated by veins of fine-grained aplite.
Loket on a historical postcard
Goethe in Loket
Most visitors to Loket are more familiar with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's stay here thanks to his description of the Carlsbad twins. The poet's courtship of the nineteen-year-old Ulrike von Levetzow caused a much greater sensation. His vain hopes were dashed on his 74th birthday in the Loket inn "White Horse", where Ulrike and her mother rejected such a marriage. "Fräulein has no desire to marry yet," they said diplomatically. Goethe dealt with the pain of this personal loss in his famous love poem Elegies.
Photo 1: Loket Castle
Photo 2: Goethe Monument in Loket
Photo 3: Karlovy Vary Twins in the Collection of the National Museum