Sokoline

Sokoline is a devastated croatian village in the Kotor Varoš municipality in north-central Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 preliminary census, there were 0 inhabitants.

The village is situated by the Grabačevac river, on opposite side of the river from Jakotina.

Sokoline had 504 inhabitants in 1991. mostly Croatians. When the war in Bosnia broke out in 1992. all of the inhabitants were expelled from their homes and were promised that they will have the chance to return. The houses were destroyed together with the Church and school. Only the Church has been renovated in 2000.

Even now with all of the destroyed homes, Sokoline is still a loveable old village with a beautiful Church, wildlife and nature.

Sokoline parish
The Sokoline parish was established in 1872 by separating from the Kotorišće parish (Kotor Varoš). Since then, it has been keeping the parish registers.

For over a century (until 1871), Sokoline served as the seat of the extensive Kotor Varoš parish. The original parish church in Sokoline was built between 1873 and 1874. It was in use until the end of the 19th century. In 1901, a new church was erected with a wooden roof, which was replaced with tiles in 1934-35. At the beginning of the 20th century, the church housed a statue of the Virgin Mary, created by Fra Grgo Kotromanović (died 1864) in the first half of the 19th century. He also crafted saintly wooden paintings for churches in Podmilačje, Jajce, Guča Gora, Fojnica, Kotor Varoš, Ovčarevo, and Doc. The church was renovated in the 1980s.

The parish also includes the branch church of St. Elijah in Jakotina, built between 1981 and 1984, as well as several cemetery chapels.

A new parish house was built in 1922 on the site of the original one. The current parish house was constructed in 1980-81 and includes a religious education hall.

In 1877, the Sokoline parish had 732 faithful, and in 1935, it had 1,070. In 1991, it had 1,526 faithful (1,500 in 1974), indicating a stagnation in the number of faithful. The reason for this is emigration. The parish consists of the following settlements: Sokoline, Jakotina, Postolje, Srednje Brdo, Viševica, and Zagrađe.

During the last war (1992), all parishioners were expelled, the parish church was set on fire, and the parish office was completely destroyed and devastated. The cemetery chapels in Sokoline and Viševica were destroyed, as well as the branch church of St. Elijah in the village of Jakotina. To this day, there are no returnees in the Sokoline parish. The church and the parish office were partially restored and protected from further deterioration in 2000. The parish belongs to the Franciscan Province of the Holy Cross in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within the monastery area of Jajce.

Demographics

 * 1961 = 350