Socerb ( or ; in older sources also ''Sacerb'', )Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, p. 386. is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

City Municipality of Koper The Urban Municipality of Koper (; , ) is one of twelve urban municipalities of Slovenia. It is located at the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Slovenia and was established in 1994. The seat of the municipality is the town of Koper. ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It lies on the border with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and is dominated by the ruins of Socerb Castle, built on a rocky cliff above the village.

Name

Socerb was attested in written sources in the 14th century as ''propre Sanctum Servulum'' (and in 1763–87 as ''St. Servolo''). The Slovene name is derived from ''*Sǫt-Serb'': a combination of *''sǫt-'' 'saint' (ultimately from Latin ''sanctus'') plus *''Serb'' (from ''Servu(lus)'', the name of a local saint, or from '' Servus'', a 5th-century martyr in Thuburbo Majus).

History

Following the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Socerb became part of

Free Territory of Trieste The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between Italy and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 16, direct responsibility of ...

. It was ceded to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

along with several other villages in

Muggia Muggia (; ; ) is an Italian (municipality) in the Province of Trieste, regional decentralization entity of Trieste, in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia on the border with Slovenia. It has 12,703 inhabitants. Lying on the eastern flank of th ...

in 1954.

Mass graves

Socerb is the site of two known

mass graves A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

associated with the Second World War. The Socerb Cave behind Vrh Mass Grave () is located in the woods northeast of the village of Kastelec. The floor of the cave is covered with the remains of victims brought from

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

and its surroundings and murdered here. The Cave 2 above Socerb Slope Mass Grave () is a shaft in Cesarjevič

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

east of Socerb. The fenced entrance to the shaft is in an area sparsely covered in pine. The grave contains the remains of an unknown number of victims. The remains of two victims that were taken from the cave in 1992 were buried in the

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

cemetery in 2004.

Church

The church in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Servulus, a local saint that lived in a nearby cave that is also a shrine, known as Holy Cave (). There is little reliable information about the saint; his feast day is celebrated on 23 December and he is said to have been a lame beggar from Rome that collected alms around Saint Clement's Church and praised God. The church belongs to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Klanec.Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper List of Churches May 2008

Gallery

File:Socerb village.jpg, Socerb, seen from the castle

References

External links

*
Socerb on Geopedia
Populated places in the Urban Municipality of Koper {{Koper-geo-stub