Dubrovnik took possession of the Fortress at the beginning of 1420 but had to leave it in December of the same year. In 1423 it was again under the rule of Dubrovnik and so it stayed for the next two and a half centuries. They abandoned it after the 1672 earthquake. It is important to point out that people of Dubrovnik refer to the fortress as a castel, with its commander being the Castellan (or Captain). In the documents of its previous owners, however, it is referred to as the Sokol grad (the town of Sokol) ruled by a Rector. The difference in the name is not accidental.

Dubrovnik took possession of the Fortress at the beginning of 1420 but had to leave it in December of the same year. In 1423 it was again under the rule of Dubrovnik and so it stayed for the next two and a half centuries. They abandoned it after the 1672 earthquake. It is important to point out that people of Dubrovnik refer to the fortress as a castel, with its commander being the Castellan (or Captain). In the documents of its previous owners, however, it is referred to as the Sokol grad (the town of Sokol) ruled by a Rector. The difference in the name is not accidental.

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For all the rulers in the late Middle Ages Sokol was a town from which they ruled Konavle and controlled the collection of feudal dues from the local gentry. To begin with, Dubrovnik ruled Konavle from the Rector’s Palace in Sveti Martin (Pridvorje), while the Sokol Castel was used for defence of Konavle Range against outside enemies. Consequently, the Government of Dubrovnik invested decades of ultimate efforts into strengthening its fortifications.

Today’s appearance dates in most parts from the fifteenth century, specifically from 1420 to 1482 when, on several occasions, Dubrovnik invested significant funds into the repair, strengthening, and expansion of its walls and the fortification facilities within them. The structural works went on through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In addition to the repair and maintenance, some rather considerable construction works were done, particularly The ground floor plan of the Fortress is of irregular oval shape because the line of the walls follows the morphology of the rocky elevation upon which it has been built. Its fortifications have been spread over three levels. The lowest is Kamen wherein 1477 an area was walled off within which the population of the surrounding area could take shelter should the need arise. The second level is the outer walls to the south and the south-western side of the Fortress which were conceived and expanded in 1420 and which, in addition to the fortified main entrance also contained the kitchen stove, food storage (later on turned into a cistern), the House of soldiers/mercenaries with special quarters for accommodation and food preparation, the House of the Crossbowmen located above the entrance gate, the guard tower and the sanitary facility. Located at the highest and the best-fortified level, the upper fort – the Citadel, was the most vital elements of the fortress (large cistern, storage for food and weapons, wheat reserve “holes”, the Castellan’s abode with a fireplace and food preparation area, the church, Canon’s quarters, the smithy and a circular fireplace.

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Apart from its defensive function, Sokol was also foreseen as a place where the surrounding population could take shelter. In addition to the already mentioned Kamen it was decreed that children under ten years of age were to be brought to the inner (upper) fortress, women and all others not bearing arms were to be located within the outer walls between the outer and the inner gate to the Fortress, or rather between the inner and outer wall. All those able to carry arms were to stay outside.

 The size of the crew depended on the circumstances. The first crew from Dubrovnik in May of 1420 numbered at least seventeen men. Commander of the Fortress was the Castellan, selected from the ranks of nobility for a period of six months, whose authorities included those of a magistrate. Somewhat later, a decree of 1449 defined that the Castellan must be under twenty-five years of age, that during his mandate he must never leave the Fortress, that he is the keeper of the keys and must personally lock and unlock the main outer gate and check the inner one. He must never allow anybody into the Fortress, neither strangers nor the folk of Konavle from the immediate surroundings of the Fortress. This rule was made even more strict later on when it was decreed that the Castellan must not receive any citizen of Dubrovnik without a special permit from the central Government. In the second half of the sixteenth century, the Fortress was run mostly by Vice-Castellans and still more frequently by Castellans selected from the ranks of commoners.

For a long time, the Sokol Fortress was doomed to sink into oblivion. That was partially due to the natural circumstances but mostly it was the general neglect of the site which brought about its decline and decay. As the time went on its walls were used as the source of building material for houses in the surrounding hamlets, for drywalls, for the construction of the church and cemetery at its base.

The Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities had decided to change this situation. Towards the end of the nineteen fifties, the Fortress was cleared of rubble and vegetation and some of the more urgent construction works were carried out under the guidance of Lukša Beritić, the founder and the long time President of the Society. Works of particular importance were done in 1962. In 1966 the Society became to the owner of the Fortress which gave a fresh boost to the renovation efforts, and so at the beginning of the nineteen seventies works on the Fortress were intensified.

In the course of that period, the entrances to the lower and upper levels of the Fortress were reconstructed, a large section of the southern wall was backfilled, the caved in the vault over the cistern beneath the Castellan’s House was rebuilt, the bottom cistern was rebuilt and restored to its function, the wheat holes were cleared, and the stairs on the Fortress were partially renovated.

The remains of the outer walls were conserved and partially reconstructed. The next major intervention took place in 1982 when most of the Fortress was conserved and the whole structure was statically solidified. Following the cleaning and conservation carried out in 2002 photogrammetric survey of the entire Fortress was done. This has made it possible to produce the project for the static reconditioning, partial reconstruction, and presentation of the Sokol Fortress to the public. From the year 2007 to 2013 the activities on the Fortress were intense. In April of 2013, Sokol was opened to the public.

Photo gallery
SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1671 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1664 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1664 Kopija (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1663 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1659 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1656 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1654 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1650 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1642 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1629 (Large)SOKOL KULA 003 (Large)SOKOL KULA 002 (Large)SOKOL KULA 001 (Large)SOKOL KULA GAM2042 (Large)SOKOL KULA GAM2039 (Large)SOKOL KULA GAM1987 (Large)SOKOL KULA GAM1985 (Large)SOKOL KULA GAM1984 (Large)SOKOL KULA GAM1981 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2157 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2156 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2154 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2150 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2149 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2147 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2144 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2142 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2141 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2138 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2137 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2122 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2118 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2117 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2114 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2105 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2104 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2103 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2102 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2093 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2090 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2089 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2060 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2059 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2057 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2056 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2052 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2050 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2045 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2042 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2037 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2035 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2031 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2029 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2028 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2023 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2020 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2008 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2006 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2005 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2003 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM2001 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1997 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1996 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1993 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1990 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1989 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1987 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1985 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1984 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1981 (Large)SOKOLGRAD GAM1977 (Large)SOKOLKULA 2012 GAM1644 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2675 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2668 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2659 (Large)SOKOL GAM2638 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2634 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2574 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2570 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2567 Copy (Large)SOKOL GAM2556 Copy (Large)GAM7997 (Large)GAM7980 (Large)GAM7978 (Large)GAM7976 Copy (Large)GAM7959 Copy (Large)GAM7956 Copy (Large)
Heritage

Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities

Gundulićeva poljana 2, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

OIB: 68697988356 MB: 03305031

+385 (0)20 638 800

+385 (0)20 638 801

+385 (0)20 638 802

Fax: +385 (0)20 638 805

gradske.zidine@gmail.com

info@citywallsdubrovnik.hr

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Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities

Gundulićeva poljana 2, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia

OIB: 68697988356 MB: 03305031

+385 (0)20 638 800

+385 (0)20 638 801

+385 (0)20 638 802

Fax: +385 (0)20 638 805

gradske.zidine@gmail.com

info@citywallsdubrovnik.hr

Follow us:

InstagramYouTube