Socerb


Socerb is a village in the City Municipality of Koper in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It lies on the border with Italy 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. The Slovene name is derived from *Sǫt-Serb: a combination of *sǫt- 'saint' plus *Serb.

History

Following the end of the Second World War, Socerb became part of Free Territory of Trieste. It was ceded to Yugoslavia along with several other villages in Muggia in 1954.

Mass graves

Socerb is the site of two known mass graves 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 and its surroundings and murdered here. The Cave 2 above Socerb Slope Mass Grave is a shaft in Cesarjevič Common 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 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 of Klanec.