The hit HBO television series Game of Thrones filmed many of its most famous scenes in Croatia. With its natural landscapes, medieval architecture, and experienced film industry, Croatia provided the perfect setting for bringing the fictional world of Westeros to life.
Dubrovnik as King’s Landing
The ancient walled city of Dubrovnik filled the role of multiple locations, including King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, and the site of the Iron Throne. With its medieval walls, red rooftops, and stone streets, Dubrovnik offered the production of the sprawling but intricate architecture needed to depict the heart of Westerosi politics and commerce.
Scenes set in the Red Keep, Maegor’s Holdfast, the House of the Undying, and the sites of various markets and tournaments were filmed within different sections of Dubrovnik’s old city walls and elaborate courtyard buildings. The natural limestone look of buildings like the Rectors Palace and Dubrovnik Cathedral translated perfectly to the grandeur of the royal capital.
Minčeta Tower became the exterior of the House of Undying in Qarth. Here was where Daenerys Targaryen sought to find the entrance into the House of Undying looking for her stolen dragons.
Ploče Gate: The Red Keep Gate in King's Landing.
The fortified walls of Dubrovnik served well as the walls of King's Landing
Rector’s Palace: The home of the Spice King in Qarth.
Jesuit Staircase: The steps of the "Walk of Shame" in King's Landing.
Split as Meereen
The coastal city of Split stood in for Meereen, the slave city across the Narrow Sea conquered by Daenerys Targaryen. Split’s Diocletian’s Palace, an ancient Roman structure originally built as an imperial residence in the 4th century AD, offered an exotic, ready-made foreign look for Meereen’s grand architecture.
The palace’s striking peristyle courtyard and arches served as the setting for many of Daenerys’ receptions and speeches to the freed slaves of Meereen. Meanwhile, the substructures beneath the palace grounds were used to film Meereen’s labyrinthine catacombs, where her dragons were kept chained.
Klis Fortress as Meereen
While Split represented the interior scenes of Meereen, the exterior shots of the city were filmed at Klis Fortress outside Split. This medieval stronghold built into a rocky cliff was digitally expanded and embellished by visual effects to become the sweeping bay vista of Meereen.
Daenerys’ conquest of the city by catapulting barrels of burning tar into the slave master’s fleet was shot at Klis Fortress, with CG ships added later. The iconic shot of Daenerys and her dragons looking out from a parapet across her conquered city also comes from Klis.
The Fortress of Klis offered a unique mountainous terrain that captured Meereen’s sweeping coastal location in a way Split’s flatter architecture could not. The visual effects team then built out the layered look of a sprawling fantasy city.
Ston as Castle Black
The special effects team turned the medieval salt works at Ston just north of Dubrovnik into Castle Black, the headquarters and redoubt of the Night’s Watch. The striking visual of vast stone walls spread across a windswept plain made Ston a great stand-in for the isolated northern Castle Black. Its fortified walls, small buildings, and barren ground were turned into Castle Black’s ramparts, towers, living quarters, and training grounds through small set builds and CG enhancements. Many Night’s Watch scenes throughout the seasons were filmed here, including the epic combat scenes between the men of the Watch and the Wildling army.
Fort Sokol as Pyke
The ruins of Fort Sokol, a cliffside fortress dating back to the 1500s, stood in for Pyke, the stronghold of House Greyjoy on the Iron Islands. While Pyke was enhanced through CGI to be a larger complex, Fort Sokol’s position directly above the sea naturally conveyed the remoteness and isolation of the Iron Islands’ capital.
Shots of ships sailing directly below its cliffs and Theon Greyjoy returning to his family seat were filmed at Fort Sokol. Its striking position on a promontory jutting into the sea required little alteration to become the windswept, barren Pyke.
Zadar as Oldtown
The city of Zadar on the Dalmatian coast filled the role of Oldtown, seat of the Citadel where the maesters train. Parts of Zadar’s historic waterfront were used to bring Oldtown’s ports and canals to life. The 12th century Church of St. Anastasia stood in for the library of the Citadel, while the elaborate 16th century Land Gate was used as an entrance to Oldtown’s university district.
By shooting in Zadar, Game of Thrones leveraged real medieval architecture and seaside locations to easily transform into the ancient learned city of Oldtown through set dressing and CGI enhancements.
What made Croatia such a perfect fit for so many locations in Game of Thrones comes down to the country’s unique landscapes. The sprawling walled city of Dubrovnik, craggy coastal cliffs, vast arboretums, and sheer medieval fortress walls provided a variety of ancient backgrounds any production designer would crave. This, coupled with Croatia’s experienced crews, made the country an ideal location for convincingly bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life.