Arboretum Sofronka, Arboretum in Bolevec, Plzeň, Czech Republic

Arboretum Sofronka is a research facility spanning 22 hectares in Bolevec with extensive collections of pine and other tree species. The grounds feature two ponds and a network of forest paths that connect different sections of the property.

Karel Kaňák founded the arboretum in 1956 for the Czechoslovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences' research task "Pine Breeding", as part of the Forestry and Game Management Research Institute. In autumn 2009 the institute closed the site and transferred it to the City of Plzeň's public property administration as a department for education, the public, science and research; Jan Kaňák now leads it.

The name Sofronka comes from a nearby forest lodge named after Václav Sofron, Plzeň's first forester. Since 2009 the site has belonged to the city of Plzeň as a department for education, the public, science and research, led by Jan Kaňák, son of founder Karel Kaňák.

The arboretum lies on the northern edge of Bolevec by the Bolevec ponds, at 330–350 m on a south-facing slope; a forest path divides the 22 hectares into a northern part with the Vydymáček and Rozkopaný ponds and a southern part with the nursery, greenhouse and meteorological station. The lower section is a frost hollow with permokarbonské sandy soils, so temperatures swing sharply; the station has recorded for the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute as "Plzeň-Bolevec" since 1969.

Of the 61 pine species planted since 1956, only 16 have adapted well enough to bear cones and regenerate naturally beneath the parent trees; another 14 survive as single specimens. The collection also holds 256 provenances of Scots pine, ranging from the Arctic Circle to Turkey and from Scotland to China.