Old Town Soko

On a steep, inaccessible rock about six kilometres north of the present-day town, Stari grad Soko stands watch – the cradle from which today’s Gračanica was born. This fortress, whose roots go deep into the 15th century, was a source of pride for the Bosnian kings, and it was ruled by Prince Radivoj Kotromanić, brother of King Stjepan Tomaš. While Soko served as an impregnable military stronghold, a mining settlement slowly developed in its shadow, along the river then called Gračanica, which would later take on the role of a regional centre.

Over the centuries, Soko changed rulers and functions – from a royal court to a key Ottoman fortress of the Gradačac Captaincy that defended the northeastern borders of Bosnia. Although it was finally abandoned in 1840 and left to the ravages of time, its remains still attract attention today with their dramatic position on the cliff. Today, as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stari grad Soko remains a silent guardian of stories about medieval power and heroism, reminding every traveller that the history of Gračanica was not born on the plain, but high on the rocks of Soko.