Socol

For other uses, see Sorin Socol and Socol, Italy.

Socol (Romanian: Socol, Serbian: Соколовац / Sokolovac, Hungarian: Nérasolymos) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Romania (in the Clisura Dunării area of Banat). It is composed of five villages: Baziaș (Базјаш, Báziás), Câmpia (Луговет, Néramező), Pârneaura (Прњавор), Socol, and Zlatița (Златица, Néraaranyos).

Socol Соколовац
Commune
Saint Sava Church in Baziaș
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Caraș-Severin County
Socol Location in Romania
Coordinates: 44°51′N 21°23′E
Country	Romania
County	Caraș-Severin
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	Olgița Ghiță (PSD)
Area	75.32 km2 (29.08 sq mi)
Elevation	76 m (249 ft)
Population  (2021-12-01)[1]	1,602
• Density	21/km2 (55/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	327365
Area code	+(40) 255
Vehicle reg.	CS
Website	primariasocol.ro

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

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1880	3,759	—
1910	4,928	+31.1%
1930	4,516	−8.4%
1977	3,000	−33.6%
2002	2,301	−23.3%
2011	1,933	−16.0%
2021	1,602	−17.1%
Source: Census data

At the 2011 census, the population of the commune numbered 1,933 people and included 52.9% Serbs, 36.8% Romanians, 5.6% Roma, 3.7% Czechs, and 0.6% Hungarians. At the 2021 census, Socol had a population of 1,602; of those, 49.13% were Romanians, 38.39% Serbs, and 2.75% Czechs.^[2]

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.^[3] 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

1. "Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (XLS). National Institute of Statistics.
2. "Populația rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021" (in Romanian). INSSE. 31 May 2023.
3. (in Romanian) Baziaș at Enciclopedia Banatului

• 
  The Danube at Baziaș
• 
  Shipping station in Baziaș (postcard from Austro-Hungarian times)
• 
  The harbor and freight railway station of Baziaș (2 January 1908)
• 
  Baziaș train station (Austro-Hungarian times)