Soča (, it, Sonzia) is a
dispersed settlement
A dispersed settlement, also known as a scattered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England and other parts of the world. Typically, there are a num ...
in the
Municipality of Bovec
The Municipality of Bovec ( or ; sl, Občina Bovec) is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia. Its center is the town of Bovec. , its mayor is Valter Mlekuž.
Geography
The northern parts of the municipality up the Trenta Valley to the peaks o ...
in northwestern
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
.
Geography
Soča is located on the upper
Soča
The Soča ( in Slovene) or Isonzo ( in Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy ().
An Alpine river in character, its source lies ...
River in the
Goriška
Goriška is a historical region in western Slovenia on the border with Italy. It comprises the northern part of the wider traditional region of the Slovenian Littoral (''Primorska''). The name ''Goriška'' is an adjective referring to the city of ...
region, the northern part of the
Slovene Littoral
The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adr ...
, on the road from
Bovec
Bovec ( or ; , german: Flitsch, fur, Plèz) is a town in the Littoral region in northwestern Slovenia, close to the border with Italy. It is the central settlement of the Municipality of Bovec.
Geography
Bovec is located from the capital Ljubl ...
up to
Trenta and the
Vršič Pass
The Vršič Pass (; sl, prelaz Vršič, it, passo della Moistrocca, german: Werschetzpass), with an elevation of , is a high mountain pass across the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia. It is the highest pass in Slovenia, as well as the high ...
. The territory of the village includes scattered farms on various foothills, promontories, and terraces in the narrow valley. Hamlets and farmsteads in the village include Brvca (a.k.a. Jezerca), Črč, Gorenja Soča, Lemovje, Log, Mišja Vas, Na Skali, Pod Bregom, Pod Skalo, Podklanec, Pri Kumerčih, V Klancu, Vršičem, and Vrsnik. To the northwest, the valley rises steeply to Mount Bavšica Grintavec () and Little Mount Grintavec (). To the southeast, the valley rises more gradually to a plateau region.
Name
The settlement is named after the Soča River. The name ''Soča'' is derived from the form ''*Sǫťa'', which was borrowed from Latin (and Romance) ''Sontius''. In turn, this is probably based on the
substrate
Substrate may refer to:
Physical layers
*Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached
** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...
name ''*Aisontia'', presumably derived from the
PIE
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...
root ''*'' 'swift, rushing', referring to a quickly moving river. Another possible origin is the pre-Romance root ''*'' 'water, river'.
History
In antiquity the area was settled by
Illyarians and
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
until the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
conquered the area. After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
it was ruled by
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
,
Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...
, and
Byzantines. In the 6th century
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
settled in the area. In the Middle Ages, the area south of the pass was ruled by the
Patriarchs of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
, later by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
and the
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, it ...
, until the estates were incorporated into the
Inner Austria
Inner Austria (german: Innerösterreich; sl, Notranja Avstrija; it, Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchie ...
n lands under
Habsburg Emperor
Maximilian I in 1509.
The area was part of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
after the First World War. It was awarded to
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
after the Second World War. During the war, the area was controlled by Slovenian
Partisans after the
Italian surrender. Partisan hospitals operated in the village and it came under attack from German forces stationed in Bovec.
Church

A small church by the roadside in the village is dedicated to
Saint Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...
and was built in 1718 and dedicated in 1823. In 1944 it was refurbished and painted by
Tone Kralj
Tone Kralj (23 August 1900 – 9 September 1975) was a Slovene sculptor and painter also known for his wall paintings and illustrations.
Kralj was born in Zagorica near Dobrepolje in Lower Carniola in 1900. He studied sculpture in Prague bet ...
. The refurbishment was a political statement and he included a scene of
Archangel Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
fighting the
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
, in which
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
and
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until Fall of the Fascist re ...
are shown as enemies, fighting on the side of the Devil. He also used the Slovene
national colours
National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have ''de facto'' national colours that have become wel ...
(red, white, and blue) in the interior and, apart from the
Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
and the
Four Evangelists, used only
Slavic saints in the iconography. Behind the church, the
Sοča Military Cemetery is a burial ground for
Austrian soldiers that died on the
Isonzo front
The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remainde ...
.
Bovec municipal site
/ref>
References
External links
*
Soča at Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Bovec
{{Bovec-geo-stub