Soko

The fortified town of Soko was the capital of the Serbian Kosaca family. It is located on Scepan Polje. It was built in the second half of the 14th century during the reign of Serbian Duke Vlatko Vukovic Kosaca. Serbian Duke Hrana Vukovic Kosaca was in charge of its construction. Its extension continued in the 15th century, where a cistern and safety tunnels were added.

Name: Soko

Location: Scepan Polje (Montenegro)

Purpose: Capital Castle

Year of construction: second half of the 14th century (around 1370)

Builders: Kosaca family (Serbian duke Hrana Vukovic Kosaca)

Year of destruction: 1466

The town is located on a hill above Scepan Polje on limestone terrain. On the south side, the city was protected with a natural ridge, while on the northeast side it was surrounded by large hard and thick stone walls. Built-in underground tunnels and volts remained visible. Two stone chairs are carved on the top of the fortress. They are carved into the living rock and from that position there is a fantastic view of the confluence of the Piva and Tara rivers, which together form the Drina River. We can freely say that the Kosaca family was and remained genetically related to the Drina River, and that none of the aggressors, and there were three of them, managed to separate them from the Drina River.

Soko Grad and Gradina are located in the area between the two rivers Piva and Tara. At the foot of Soko grad, two churches were built as the founding works of the Kosaca family. The first was built by the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca.

Church of St. Stephen in Scepan Polje

The second church was built by the Duke of St. Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca.

Zagrade Monastery with the Church of St. John the Baptist on Scepan Polje

Historian Konstantin Jirecek wrote that Soko grad was the capital of the Kosaca family and that they mostly stayed there in the summer. Also in that warm period, they stayed next to Soko grad and in the fortified town of Samobor near the trading town of Gorazde and in Kozman near the trading town of Foca. Those were three summer residences. All three were built along the Drina River.

Soko grad is mentioned for the first time in a charter sent to Dubrovnik on June 24, 1419. years. Then, in Soko grad, the nobles of the Principality of Herzegovina took the oath in order to recognize the sale of Konavle to Dubrovnik itself. On that date in Soko Grad, the statement was given by the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca (ruler of the throne of the Kosaca family), the Serbian prince Vukac Hranic Kosaca, the Serbian prince Vuk Hranic Kosaca (my direct ancestor). There were also nobles of that time: Prince Radivoj Stripkovic, Prince Radosav Stripkovic, Prince Radic Stripkovic, Prince Obrad Hlapomiric, Prince Vlatko Obradovic, Prince Ivanis Ostojic and Serbian Prince Ivan Vukovic Kosaca (son of Serbian Prince Vuk Hranic Kosaca and my direct ancestor).

05/30/1420 year, another charter was written in Soko grad. The sale of the Pavlovic family from Konavle and their part of Konavle was confirmed there. It is also stated that the Kosaca family agrees with the sale of Pavlovic’s part of Konavle to the Republic of Dubrovnik. Witnesses to the charter are mentioned in the same order as in the previous charter from 1419.

In 1424, the famous stone master Novak Pribinic came to Soko grad. He was invited to build a water cistern, because already in that period, the city functions as a capital city and it needs infrastructure.

In 1426, works were carried out and security tunnels of the fortified town were built. Metal ore is also being excavated, which was later used to make weapons. Lead, copper and zinc were mined. All works were supervised and led by the Dubrovnik stone master Radisa Bogetic.

At the foot of Soko grad, the trading town of Scepan Grad developed, where miners, soldiers, merchants and suppliers of the fortified town lived. Serbian Duke Vlatko Vukovic Kosaca often stayed in Soko Grad. After the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca took over the throne of the Kosaca family, the command of the city was taken over by his middle brother, the Serbian prince Vukac Hranic Kosaca. While preparing his son for the future ruler, the prince gave him the name Stefan, which in Greek means wreath and crown. United means crowned. All Serbian rulers of the Middle Ages were named Stefan, so that the Kosaca family did not differ in that custom.

Soko town was a lavish and rich city. Decorated with religious Christian Orthodox relics. The city experienced a real prosperity in 1411, when the daughter of the Serbian emperor Lazar, Jelena Lazarevic, arrived there. She was a very educated woman at the time. She was literate and invested a lot in books and the written word. She was also a great believer in the Christian Orthodox province. There is a golden icon of the Most Holy Mother of God decorated with pearls, precious stones and precious marble. Cups made of gold and other precious metals were also made there. The most famous gold master Rambot Wachter from Bruges created works of art there. He made the most beautiful jewelry that Jelena wore, as did the other halls. She loved to write poetry. The books she wrote were decorated with her artistic hand by Master Rambot.

In 1434, a petition was written to Dubrovnik for permission to build an Orthodox church in Soko grad, because many believers lived in the town itself of the Christian Orthodox Province. Dubrovnik rejected the request on the grounds that the permission required the pope’s permission. All this tells us how much the Serbian duke Sandalj Hranic Kosaca was dedicated to the Orthodox religion and turned to Byzantine culture.

There are testimonies that after his death, the Duke of Saint Sava, Stefan Vukcic Kosaca, was secretly buried at the foot of Soko Grad, in the Zagrade Monastery. There are claims that his son, the Duke of St. Sava Vlatko Hercegovic Kosaca, secretly transferred him on horseback from Novi to the monastery and secretly buried him there. Only the most reliable servants helped him in the transfer of the remains.

In 1466, the Turkish conquerors attacked Piva and the areas around Piva, as well as Scepan Polje alone. Prince Radoje was in charge of defending the city. In the negotiations, he handed over the city, and as a reward, the Turkish conquerors gave him some possessions. Soko grad remained a historical place and the capital of the Kosaca family until the arrival of the Turkish conquerors who destroyed it after the conquest.

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