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.

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.