Socol

Socol Соколовац
Commune
Location in Caraș-Severin County
Socol Location in Romania
Coordinates: 44°51′N 21°23′E / 44.850°N 21.383°E / 44.850; 21.383Coordinates: 44°51′N 21°23′E / 44.850°N 21.383°E / 44.850; 21.383
Country	Romania
County	Caraș-Severin
Population  (2011)[1]	1,933
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Vehicle reg.	CS

Socol (Romanian: Socol, Serbian: Сокол/Sokol, or Соколовац/Sokolovac, Hungarian: Nérasolymos) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Romania (in the Clisura Dunării area of Banat). In 2011, the population of the commune numbered 1,873 people and its population was ethnically mixed. It is composed of five villages: Baziaș, Câmpia, Pârneaura, Socol and Zlatița.

Sokol means "falcon" in Serbian. The commune is officially bilingual, with both Romanian and Serbian being used as working languages on public signage and in administration, education and justice.

Demographics and name[]

In 2011, population included:

• 52.9% Serbs
• 36.8% Romanians
• 5.6% Roma
• 3.7% Czechs
• 0.6% Hungarians

Baziaș[]

Baziaș is a village of Socol commune, notable as the place where the Danube enters Romania, and where, in 1854, the first railway line was opened on the territory of present-day Romania—the line ran from Baziaș to Oravița, at a time when the area was under Austrian administration. The village has a significant Serbian heritage, being the site of Baziaș Monastery, said to have been founded in 1225 by Saint Sava while on a brief refuge there, and rebuilt several times.^[2] The local forest includes several protected plant species.

Natives[]

• Miodrag Belodedici (born 1964), a former world-class soccer player
• Petru Dumitriu (1924–2002), novelist

See also[]

• Serbs in Romania

References[]