Sokograd, also known as Pliva or Plivski grad, Pliva-Soko, Sokol-grad, Soko-grad, or simply Soko or Sokol, is a medieval fortress with a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

in the

Pliva Pliva d.o.o. is a pharmaceutical company based in Zagreb, Croatia that primarily manufactures and sells generic drugs. It is a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals. Pliva is one of the world's largest producers of Generic drug, generic Adderall. ...

river valley, between Gerzovo and nearby

Šipovo Šipovo ( sr-cyrl, Шипово) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the southern part of the Bosanska Krajina region. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,293 inhabitants, while the town of � ...

, in Šipovo municipality,

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

entity of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. It was a very important fortress for the

medieval Bosnian state In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and the center of the ''

župa A župa, or zhupa, is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "county" or "parish". It was mentioned for the first t ...

'' Pliva (at the time also called ''Pljeva''). It was built in a canyon on a steep slope high above the river Sokočnica, which flows into Pliva in

Etymology

Sokograd or Sokol derives from the Slavic word falcon (''Sokol'') and thus being a castle with

, it received the ''grad'' () suffix.

Geography

Sokograd was a medieval castle and a castle town in the Pliva valley, within the settlement of Gerzovo, municipality of

Mrkonjić Grad Mrkonjić Grad ( sr-cyrl, Мркоњић Град, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Bosanska Krajina region, between Banja Luka and Jajce. As of 2013, the municipality has a populatio ...

, at the border of municipality of

History

Sokograd was probably built at the end of the first half of the 13th century when the first stronger fortresses began to be built in the then

Banate of Bosnia The Banate of Bosnia ( / Бановина Босна), or Bosnian Banate (''Bosanska banovina'' / Босанска бановина), was a medieval state located in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although Hungarian kings viewed Bosnia as ...

. During his attack on Bosnia, King Lajos I of Anjou tried to capture it in July 1363 but was prevented from doing so by the heroic defense of the city and they withdrew after three days of fighting. At the head of the defense was '' Knez''

Vukac Hrvatinić Vukac Hrvatinić ( 1350 – d. after 10 April 1378) was a Bosnian magnate with the title of '' knez'' in the service of Ban Tvrtko Kotromanić of Bosnia, who elevated him to title of vojvoda () later on. He belonged to the Hrvatinić noble fami ...

, father of more prominent

Grand Duke of Bosnia Grand Duke of Bosnia (, ) was a court title in the Bosnian medieval state, with its first holders being recorded around the middle of the 14th century. The title was bestowed by the monarch to its highest military commander, rarely two, usually ...

Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić (c. 1350–1416) was a medieval Bosnian nobleman and magnate, Grand Duke of Bosnia, Knez of Donji Kraji, and Duke of Split. He was the most prominent member of the Hrvatinić noble family, and one of the major feu ...

. ''Knez'' Vukac, on these merits, received the Sokograd with entire ''župa'' of Pliva from Ban Tvrtko, and was bestowed with a title of

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. The Hungarians tried again to capture the city in 1405 but were defeated again. The

King of Bosnia This is a list of monarchs of Bosnia, containing Ban (title), bans and kings of Medieval Bosnia; Bosnia (early medieval), Banate of Bosnia, Kingdom of Bosnia. Duke (1084–1095) Bans (1154–1377) Kings and queen (1377–1463) All Bosnian ki ...

Stephen Tomašević Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

, spent a short time in the fortress during the period in which the

Kingdom of Bosnia The Kingdom of Bosnia ( / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and evolved out of the ...

collapsed under the Ottoman invasion, after which it was recaptured by the Kingdom of Hungary. During the battles between the Ottomans and the Hungarians in the second half of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century, Sokograd was part of the Hungarian Jajce Banovina up until 1518-1521. The Ottomans finally occupied it in 1518, or in 1521. During the 16th century, it was mentioned as one of the 9

Vlach Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...

katun of Bosnia. Sokograd served the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

until 1833 when it was abandoned by Ottoman Garrisons. The Fortress along with the rest of Bosnia was incorporated into the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

in 1878. In an Ottoman defter there were 207 Christian households with 222 tabis along with 79 Muslim households along 90 tabis.

Creation

In the beginning, Sokograd consisted only of the so-called fortified tower (A) with a small courtyard. The city was later expanded to today's ''Upper Town, to which the Lower Town'' was later added, after which the ramparts and towers were strengthened and adapted to the use of firearms. One of the last stages in the development of the fort was the construction of a tower on the other side of the Sokocnica canyon , which protected Sokograd from artillery attacks in the west. On the ramparts of the fort can be seen three layers of construction and development of the city, which characterize the state in which the fortress was located.

Time periods

* 1. Banovina and Kingdom of Bosnia (from its establishment until 1463 ) * 2. Hungary (from 1463 to 1521 ) * 3. Ottoman Empire (from 1521 to 1833 )

References

Notes

Books

External links

"Fortress Sokograd"
{{Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Castles in Bosnia and Herzegovina Šipovo