Sokolčí Castle

Location:
The ruin of Sokolčí castle is located about 6 km to the east of Kaplice on the Hradiště hill.

Origin of the Name:
The name of the castle originally meant "falcon castle" or "falcon fort".

Architectural and Historical Development:
Sokolčí castle was divided into the barbican and the castle itself. Only at the beginning of the 20th century was it possible to define the main walls of the castle, to say where a moat and earthworks were and to have a look into the cellars. But only a fraction of the castle ruins were preserved until our times.

History of the Castle's Residents:
Sokolčí castle was originally owned by the Lords of Michalovice. The owner of the Velešín estates Jindřich z Benešova (Velešína) who owned also Sokolčí castle, passed his estates over to Lords of Rožmberk at the end of the 14th century. Sokolčí castle became part of the Nové Hrady estates. The last mention of the castle is dated 1541 when a statement of Peter V. von Rosenberg in the land files said that the above mentioned aristocrat keeps "Hradiště village and there is also a ruined castle, called Sokolčí".

(mh)