Sokolac Castle, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The castle of Sokolac is situated on one hill on the east side of the hill Debeljača on the left bank of the river Une. The oldest charter in which Sokolac is mentioned dates from the 14th century. For a long time the town was exposed to the battles between the Bosnian crown and the Kings of Sigismund of Luxemburg and Ladislaus of Naples.

The Ottoman army occupied the fort in 1592. At the site of today’s fortress in the Bronze Age there was a prehistoric fortress of 670 x 170 meters. The traces of prehistoric ceramics found at the time of archaeological excavations indicate the period from the 10th to the 9th centuries BC, which coincides with the time of of Japodian settlements on the river Una in the nearby Ripač.

Sokolac Fort was restored by Bihac Mayor Lothar von Berks in 1897. He began to charge entrance to this old town, which represents the beginnings of tourism in these areas.The fortress was declared a national monument.

References:

unasana.ba

User Reviews

Rita K (6 months ago)
Not worth the trip if you have other things to do on your list! Since it was raining/flooding, I could not go to the waterfalls so I stayed close to the city. You can either walk quite a bit to the fort, or you can drive up a really narrow and steep road (only 1 car can fit at a time ). I drove and got lucky because nobody else was there. Once you get to the fort, the view is nice but there isn’t much to do since the fort is pretty small. No entrance fee though

Željko Sirk (7 months ago)
Well preserved medieval castle of pre-Osman period. It is worth to visit for castle lovers although there is a great lack of historical information and it was realy interesting & turbulent. The entrance fee is 2 KM (1 Euro).

And85 (9 months ago)
Sokolac fort is most probably one of the best medieval castles that you can find in Bosnia. Positioned on a high hill behind Bihac, you can have a beautiful view of the entire area, especially if you climb the main tower. Accessible by the original internal stairs, it is also a good experience of how it was "living" in these structures hundreds of years ago. It is possible to use the drone, and the entrance cost is very cheap. Totally recommend!

Mariia Tararova (11 months ago)
Gorgeous! Free of charge! Excellent view!

N. (11 months ago)
Nicely preserved fortress without entrance fee with the main tower accesible all the way to the top where you can see the town of Bihać below in the nice natural setting. There is a small parking lot and road to the top is asphalted but quite steep. Below the fortress is a rock climbing spot. Next to the parking lot are a couple of tables with bences to rest a bit, although no shadow so a bit hot during summer.

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