The constant threat from the Ottomans, led to the creation of a military border that stretched from Senj to Belgrade. In 1530, the castle located in Brinje was part of that border defense. Prior to that time, the Frankopans had ruled the castle in Brinje. Because of the threat, they ceded their castle, which is called Sokoloac (from the Croatian word for falcon - sokol) to royal authority, which then stationed a garrison of soldiers there. Here's a 1658 drawing of Sokolac and Brinje.
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| Photo taken August 2016 at Sokolac Castle, Brinje, Croatia. |
Brinje has an important family connection because the Kljaić (Klaich) family (and others) moved to Kurjak from Brinje around 1689. (The military-settlers were moving back into Kurjak and other parts of Lika in the late 1600s to resettle the land from the Turkish forces that had withdrawn back into Ottoman lands.)
The castle (and now the ruins of it) are in a picturesque position on top of a hill in the valley. If you visit today, you can see some of the castle structure. Here are a few pictures that we took when we visited in 2016:
Speaking of visiting, you can always see the outside of the castle for free. However, if you want to go inside the Castle tower, you need to set up an appointment in advance. When we visited in 2016, we emailed them in advance at the following email address: info@visitbrinje.hr
As of 2016, tickets for a single person were 20 kuna, for a group up to 30 people 200kn and for a group up to 40 people 300kn (but you'll have to email to find out if that's still true). There were two levels in the castle. On the lower level they have informational signs about Brinje's history along with a small number of artifacts.
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| Inside the lower level of Sokolac |
On the upper floor is a chapel (Chapel of the Holy Trinity I believe) that you can also visit.
My husband's ancestors are Socolich or Sokolich from Losinj. Do you know anything about the Socolak castle name? I have seen that that they were part of an Illryican tribe.
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