Preliminary results of archeological research of the palace of the old town of Sokolac in Brinje

U jednoj od glavnih gospićkih ulica, Kaniškoj ulici, još u vojnokrajiško doba se smjestio kompleks vojarne koji se sastojao od triju zgrada vojarne te triju drvenih objekata. Uz kompleks vojarne u Gospiću je bio podignut i stan zapovjednika, također u Kaniškoj ulici, te menaža za časnike na početku Budačke ulice. Zahvaljujući analitičkoj interpretaciji istražene dokumentacije o novogradnji Domobranske vojarne u Gospiću s kraja 19. stoljeća, dijelom sačuvane u Hrvatskom državnom arhivu u Zagrebu, može se rekonstruirati tijek izgradnje glavne zgrade vojarne, izmjene unutar kompleksa vojarne iz razdoblja prije Prvoga svjetskog rata, kao i promjene na vojnim gradnjama koje su se nalazile u naselju. Ovo je prvi studijski prikaz vojne arhitekture Gospića iz razdoblja prijelaza iz 19. u 20. stoljeće.On the hillside in the middle of the Brinje field is the Old Town, known as Sokolac. The medieval fortress was built in the 13th century, and its present feature dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. It consists of an irregular oval core arranged around the rectangular yard. The remains of the entrance tower are on the west side, while the eastern one is defined by a multi-storey building with a chapel. On the south side, there is a massive roundel. The whole hillside was surrounded by a defensive wall fortified by semicircular towers and a square entrance tower. It was built by the princes of Krčki who held it until the first half of the 16th century when the Military Frontier took over the fortress management. When the army left this area, the fortress was left to decay. This article presents the preliminary results of archaeological research conducted since 2014. Researches have contributed to new cognitions about the time of the fortress construction, as well as its development phases. This research activities have found the remains of a prehistoric settlement dating back to the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Today's visible fortress was preceded by a rectangular object from 12th or 13th century. At the end of the 14th century, the fortress slowly takes on the visible contours and at the beginning of the 15th century, an object with a substructure and a chapel was built on the east side. In 1530, the Imperail Army took over the authority of the fortress and modifies the eastern side and built an outer defensive ring with semi-towers and bastions