Croatian Game of Thrones

(photo: Paul Schiraldi)

When HBO aired the first episode of Game of Thrones in 2011, few could have guessed that Croatia would become one of its most recognizable backdrops. The series, based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire literary series, won over audiences worldwide, but also turned several Croatian cities into must-see destinations for Westeros fans.

Although filming initially began in Northern Ireland and Morocco, a large part of the production moved to Croatia from the second season. It was the Dalmatian cities that gave the visual identity to some of the most important locations in the series.

 

Dubrovnik – King’s Landing

The most famous Croatian location is undoubtedly Dubrovnik. Since the second season, it has become the main backdrop for King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. The Old Town, the city walls, Fort Lovrijenac, Minčeta and Bokar were used for numerous key scenes. Fort Lovrijenac is especially remembered as part of the Red Keep. The Jesuit Steps became world-famous after Cersei’s “walk of shame” scene.

The producers found exactly what they needed in Dubrovnik – an authentic medieval city that required almost no additional visual interventions.

 

Lokrum and Trsteno – Qarth and the Gardens of the Red Keep

Not far from Dubrovnik is the island of Lokrum. In the second season, it served as the city of Qarth, the place where Daenerys Targaryen searches for her dragons. The botanical gardens and Benedictine monastery were the perfect backdrop for the exotic scenes from Essos. Today, it is also home to a replica of the Iron Throne that HBO gifted to the island.

The Trsteno Arboretum was also an important location. The scenes of the gardens of the Red Keep were filmed there. It was there that the conversations between Olenna Tyrell, Margaery and Sansa Stark took place.

 

Split and Diocletian’s Palace

While Dubrovnik represented King’s Landing, Split became an important part of Daenerys’ story. The cellars of Diocletian’s Palace were used for the scenes where Daenerys keeps her dragons, and the ancient stone corridors perfectly suited the atmosphere of the city of Meereen.

The production chose Split precisely because of this space, because few locations could offer such a convincing combination of history and monumentality.

 

Klis Fortress – Meereen

Not far from Split is Klis Fortress, which represented the city of Meereen in the series. In the fourth season, scenes of Daenerys’s conquest of the city and the liberation of the slaves were filmed there. The high walls and views of the surrounding landscape gave the location a strong visual identity. After the series, the fortress became one of the most visited destinations among fans.

 

Šibenik – Braavos

A lesser-known, but very important location was Šibenik, which appeared as the city of Braavos in the fifth season. Of particular note is the Cathedral of St. James, a UNESCO protected heritage site. It appears in scenes related to the Iron Bank of Braavos. Šibenik thus became the first Croatian city to appear in the series under its own architectural identity, and not as a substitute for another location.

 

Croatia as part of the world of Westeros

In addition to these main locations, individual scenes were also filmed in Trogir, Kaštel Gomilica,the areaaround Split, and the Krka National Park.Over the years, Croatia has become one of the most important production centers of the series.

Game of Thrones ended in 2019 after eight seasons and won a total of 59 Emmy Awards. Actors such as Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey further solidified the series’ status as a global phenomenon. Its influence on Croatian tourism remains visible today. Dubrovnik has become an indispensable stop for fans of the series, and tours of the filming locations are still among the most sought-after tourist tours.

For millions of viewers around the world, King’s Landing, Braavos and Meereen were fictional cities. To uninformed foreign visitors, especially to Dubrovnik, it seems that Croatian cities have retained their film sets. Although for all of Croatia, these “sets” are actually everyday locations that once became the center of the greatest television fantasy story of its time.