Vivid Real-World Castles That Brought Game of Thrones To Life

Throughout its run, Game of Thrones has featured a production value that rivaled most major Hollywood films — and many of the real-life locations that became classic landmarks in the Seven Kingdoms have histories just as interesting as their fictional counterparts. In addition to detailed costumes and stunning CGI, the show is perhaps best known for its location shooting. Rather than shoot everything in a studio, Game of Thrones uses real-life locations across the Western Hemisphere to represent Westeros.

From the hills of Northern Ireland, to the glaciers of Iceland, Game of Thrones‘ production crew spared no expense in making the most detailed show possible. The show was filmed at locations across the globe, with countries as varied as Spain, Iceland, Morocco, and the United Kingdom all tapped into in order to create the feeling of a living, breathing Westeros. While there were dozens of outdoor locations used for the show, there are 10 real-life castles and landmarks used in Game of Thrones that stand out either for their history or how they were utilized.

The Castle Of Zafra, Spain

The Tower Of Joy

Appearing in Game of Thrones season 6, The Castle of Zafra was a stand-in for the Tower of Joy, the birthplace of Jon Snow. It appeared in a flashback experienced by Bran Stark, where he saw his father, Ned, fight Targaryen forces during Robert’s Rebellion. It was here where Bran learned the truth about his ‘brother’, and Jon’s potential claim to the throne.

The real Castle of Joy was built in the 12th century, in the region of Guadalajara — though, at the time, the location was regularly fought over by smaller kingdoms that predate the modern nation of Spain. Like many Spanish fortress castles, The Castle of Zafra — or, as it’s named in Spanish, Castillo de Zafra — was designed to fight off the Muslim Moors.

The castle allegedly never fell to the invaders, and today it remains an important piece of Spanish military history. The real Tower of Joy from Game of Thrones was in active use until the late 1470s, after which the unification of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon made The Castle of Zafra significantly less strategically important for military use.

The Royal Alcazar, Spain

A Dornish Palace

The Royal Alcazar, or the Real Alcázar de Sevilla as it’s named in Spanish, is the closest thing Game of Thrones fans can find to a real-life Dorne. Another location from Spain — this time in the city of Seville — The Royal Alcazar was used in the series as one of the palaces in the nation of Dorne. While Dorne has remained controversial among fans, no one can deny that it is one of the most beautiful locations in the show.

Much of this is owed to The Royal Alcazar’s ornate architecture, which was inspired by that of the Muslim Moors who once lived there. Built upon one of these formal settlements, the palace is one of the homes of Spain’s royal family.

The fact that in Spain there were two prime locations for different regions of Westeros that were culturally very distinguished speaks volumes for the nation’s mixed history. It’s particularly fascinating that the location used for the many palaces of Dorne was built by the same historic Spanish demographic that The Castle of Zafra was built to defend against.

Shane’s Castle, Northern Ireland

Winterfell, Dragonstone, And Various Others

While Spain provided an incredibly appropriate likeness of Dorne, for the more northern regions of Westeros, Northern Ireland proved itself to be the best location — especially the historic Shane’s Castle. Many fans know that Northern Ireland was used extensively for scenes in Winterfell, Dragonstone, and just about any area between the Wall and King’s Landing.

What they may not know, however, is that Northern Ireland is home to a castle whose innards were the sight of one of the show’s darkest moments. Shane’s Castle’s crumbling stone may not resemble the gorgeous oceanfront of King’s Landing, but its dungeon was used by a radicalized High Sparrow to force confessions of guilt out of prisoners. Not even Cersei Lannister was safe, and it was here that the most powerful woman in Westeros met her match.

The real castle doesn’t have as gruesome or bloody a history as the places it came to be used for in Game of Thrones (or at least, no more gruesome or bloody than any other medieval castle). The ruins of Shane’s Castle can be found near County Antrim, and were built in the mid-1300s, and stood proud until a fire in the 19th century destroyed almost all the structure beyond the stone walls and foundations.

Kirkjufell Mountain, Iceland

Arrowhead Mountain

Not all of the real-life Game of Thrones locations are historic castles or palaces. While the scenes north of the wall could very well have been created in a studio with CGI, the show-runners instead chose to use real-life locations to ensure Jon Snow’s journey was just as visually breathtaking as his plot arcs were tense and captivating. For this, the cast and crew of Game of Thrones flew out to Iceland to film around the iconic Kirkjufell Mountain.

Known in the series as Arrowhead Mountain, Kirkjufell is one of the most famous mountains in all of Iceland, and is a popular tourist destination. Located on an island on the tip of the country’s western coast, the mountain offers breathtaking views from the mainland and stands over 1500ft at its summit. With its swirling rock formation, the mountain almost resembles a soft-serve ice cream cone.

In Game of Thrones, however, the mountain is not a sweet sight. Located north of the Wall, deep within White Walker territory, the mountain looms in the background of a number of visions Bran Stark has of the Night King and his minions. Somewhat ironically, given how dangerous the location is in Game of Thrones, in Icelandic the name literally translates to “Church Mountain”.

Ait Benhaddou, Morocco

Yunkai

The ancient walled city of Ait Benhaddou is one of Morocco’s most popular tourist destinations. Perhaps the oldest man-made landmark on this list, the city is a world heritage site that has survived for thousands of years. There are already enough reasons to visit this hive of history and culture, but its use as a stand-in for one of Game of Throness’ most important cities is what really seals the deal.

Ait Benhaddou was used to represent Yunkai, one of the southern slave cities that Daenerys Targaryen captures and liberates during her crusade during Game of Thrones seasons 3-6. While Yunkai eventually falls back into enemy hands, the city is still an important step in her quest to the Iron Throne.

Game of Thrones isn’t the only prominent TV show or movie to be filmed in or around Ait Benhaddou, as it was also used for Lawrence of Arabia, The Living Daylights, The Mummy, Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven.

Game of Thrones isn’t the only prominent TV show or movie to be filmed in or around Ait Benhaddou, as it was also used for Lawrence of Arabia, The Living Daylights, The Mummy, Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven.

Image via Max

Release Date

2011 – 2019-00-00

Showrunner

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss

Directors

David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff

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