Re: Favourite City in the books
Pish posh? Ok...
Well, I would argue that having a surrounding "town" does not make it a city. In fact, the descriptions do not match and if you were to watch the making of GOT the series, the writers and producers specifically make the point that Winterfell is NOT a city like King's Landing but rather a very large fortress thus how they depict it in the series.
Anyways, I offer the following from Wiki:
Winterfell
Winterfell is the name given to the ancestral castle of
House Stark. Located in the cold North it is heated by hot water from the spring beneath the castle, which is piped through its walls. The castle has deep catacombs where the bodies of Starks are buried. Statues mark the crypts of the former lords of Winterfell and the old Kings of the North.
Pyke
Pyke is the seat of
House Greyjoy, which for years has ruled over the
Iron Islands. The castle of Pyke is built on the end of a rocky peninsula on the island of Pyke. Pyke's throne is the Seastone Chair. The endless pounding of the sea has worn away much of the rock on which Pyke originally stood, so the castle now consists mostly of a main keep on the main island and smaller towers perched on rocks in the sea. These towers are linked by swaying rope bridges. Lordsport is a village on the far end of the island, overlooked by the castle of House Botley.
Harrenhal
Located on the northern shore of Gods Eye, a lake in the central part of Westeros, Harrenhal was built by Harren the Black to be the greatest castle ever constructed. Made of black stone, with numerous massive towers and a great hall large enough to hold an army, the castle was a monument to Harren's hubris. But Harren had scarcely finished his work when Aegon the Conqueror began his invasion. Harrenhal's thick, high walls were useless against Aegon's dragons. Dragonfire cracked and melted the castle's stone, killing Harren and his sons. Harren's line was obliterated and his kingdom conquered.
Since Harren's disaster, the castle has been occupied by a variety of houses. Some residents over the ages have met bad ends, giving the castle the reputation of being cursed. This, combined with the logistical and economic difficulties inherent in keeping such an enormous castle maintained and garrisoned, has made the castle something of a
white elephant.
Riverrun
Riverrun is the ancestral stronghold of House Tully, lords of the riverlands since the Conquest. The castle is a massive structure of sandstone, triangular in shape, located at a fork of the Tumblestone River. Some have compared the keep to a massive ship. It is possible to enter Riverrun from the Tumblestone, by way of a waterway downstream from the Wheel Tower, as well as through the main entrance. The castle is bordered on two sides by the Tumblestone and the Red Fork, and the third side fronts on a massive manmade ditch, which is flooded to create a moat when the castle is under siege. Riverrun is crowned by a massive watchtower, which allows defenders in the stronghold to spot enemies approaching for miles. This advantage, combined with the defensive barrier provided by the rivers and moat, makes the castle extremely hard to take.
The Twins
The Twins are a heavily fortified set of castles connected by a stone arch bridge on the Green Fork river. This bridge is wide enough for two wagons to cross abreast and guarded by a tower in the middle known as the Water Tower. The Twins have been the seat of
House Frey for over six hundred years and they have grown wealthy by charging a heavy toll on all those who need to cross, as it is the only place to do so within several days travel. As the Freys are both wealthy and numerous they are one of the most powerful houses sworn to
House Tully, able to send into war nearly one thousand knights and other cavalry, and three thousand men-at-arms, and still hold the Twins with a garrison of at least four hundred men. Still, the Freys have been of suspect loyalty in the past and the current head of the House,
Lord Walder Frey, is known as a prickly and prideful old man.
The Eyrie
The Eyrie is the ancient seat of House Arryn, one of the oldest lines of Andal nobility. It is situated high on the mountain known as the Giant's Lance, and is reachable only by a narrow mule trail, guarded by the Gates of the Moon and three small waycastles; Stone, Snow and Sky. The Eyrie is the smallest of the great castles, consisting of seven slim towers. It is supplied by means of a massive dumbwaiter that extends down to the topmost waycastle. While many, including Lysa Arryn, claim that the Eyrie is impregnable on account of its mountainous surroundings, this advantage is not permanent, as winter snows can make supplying the fortress impossible. The Eyrie's dungeons, known as "sky cells," are particularly infamous; they are left open to the cold sky and have sloping floors that put prisoners on edge with fear of slipping or rolling off the edge in their sleep, causing many prisoners to commit suicide rather than remain imprisoned. Executions in the Eyrie are carried out via the Moon Door, which opens from the high hall onto a sickening six hundred foot drop to the stones of the mountain. The Eyrie is also unique in that it lacks a godswood; no weirwood tree would take root in the stony soil.
Casterly Rock
A stronghold carved from a mountain overlooking the harbor-city of Lannisport and the sea beyond, Casterly Rock is the ancestral seat of
House Lannister. According to popular legend, the hero known as Lann the Clever tricked the Casterlys into giving up the Rock, and took it for himself. The Rock is renowned as one of the strongest castles of the Seven Kingdoms. It was held by
Lord Tywin Lannister prior to the
War of the Five Kings, but after his death, Queen Regent
Cersei Lannister made one of her cousins
castellan of the castle.
George R. R. Martin stated on his blog that he drew inspiration for Casterly Rock from the
Rock of Gibraltar.
Oldtown
Oldtown is one of the largest cities in Westeros and is by far the oldest, built by the First Men before the Andal Invasion. It survived the invasion by welcoming the Andals, not resisting them. The city is located in the south-west of Westeros, at the mouth of the River Honeywine where it opens onto Whispering Sound and the Sunset Sea beyond.
Storm's End
Storm's End is the seat of House Baratheon and, before them, the ancestral seat of the Storm Kings extending back many thousands of years. According to legend, the first Storm King in the age of the First Men was Durran, who won the love of Elenei, the daughter of the sea god and the goddess of the wind. He took her as wife, and in a rage her parents sent vast storms to shatter his keep and kill his wedding guests and family. Durran declared war against the gods and raised several castles over Shipbreaker Bay, each larger and more formidable than the last. Finally, the seventh castle stayed in place and resisted the storms. Some believe this is because the Children of the Forest took a hand in its construction; others believe that a young boy who grew up to be Brandon Stark, the builder of the Wall, advised Durran on its construction. The truth of the matter is unknown.
Storm's End is exceptionally formidable. In the history of Seven Kingdoms, it has never fallen to either siege or storm. Its outer defences consist of a huge curtain wall, 100 feet (30 m) tall and 40 feet (12 m) thick on its thinnest side, nearly 80 feet (24 m) thick on its seaward side. The wall consists of a double course of stones with an inner core of sand and rubble. The wall is smooth and curving, the stones so well placed that there are nearly no places where the wind can get into cracks between the stones. On the seaward side, there is a 150-foot (46 m) drop below the wall into the sea.
The castle itself consists of one huge drum tower crowned with formidable battlements, so that from a distance enemies can see what appears to be a single huge, spiked fist thrusting towards the sky in defiance. The tower is so large that it can comfortably contain stables, barracks, armoury and lord's chambers all in the same structure.
Storm's End is said to be protected by spells woven into the very walls that prevent the use of any magic against it.
Dragonstone
Dragonstone was once the westernmost outpost of the ancient Freehold of Valyria. A century before the Doom, the Targaryen family was sent to Dragonstone to rule there. When the Doom came upon Valyria, House Targaryen survived along with the last of the Valyrian dragons. Another century later, Aegon Targaryen and his sisters Rhaenys and Visenya launched a massive campaign of conquest from the island, and eventually conquered all of Westeros except for Dorne. Aegon's progeny would reign as kings of the Seven Kingdoms for centuries.
Dragonstone is a massive, forbidding fortress, taking up a large portion of the island of the same name. The castle is unique in that the masons of Valyria carved its towers and keeps into the shapes of dragons, and made ferocious gargoyles to cover its walls. The castle's lower levels are oddly warm; there is still some volcanic activity deep below the keep. There is a small port and town outside of the castle.
