George R.R. Martin reveals his favorite castle from Game of Thrones

Westeros, the vast continent in the world of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” is home to numerous iconic castles, each with its own rich history and significance. These legendary strongholds, all the way from the Wall to the sands of Dorne, hold great strategic and symbolic importance in the realm. George R.R. Martin once revealed his favorite castle from the series and explained his reasons for choosing one particular castle among the many we have seen in the show.

George R. R. Martin’s favorite castle

In an interview with Robin Hobb back in 2014, George R.R. Martin picked two of his favorite castles from the series.

Favorite castle? Let me see, I’m very fond of my castles, and of course, Winterfell is where it all began, so that’s probably going to be the choice. Winterfell.

He was then asked if Winterfell was based on a real-world castle:

And what would you have based Winterfell on? Did you have a real-world castle in your head when you thought about that one?

Not directly, no.

Martin then describes the unique architecture in the castle of Winterfell:

It’s a fairly simple castle it’s most distinctive feature is the double wall with the moat between which I’ve never seen a real castle that has that particular architectural feature. But I like the size of it and the Godswood in the center of it and you know it’s really more of a town. My castles are bigger than most real-world castles by large.

Martin also picked another one of his favorite castles from Westeros:

I’m also very fond of a pike on the iron islands, which was actually based on a couple of Scottish castles, but the idea of a castle that’s on these sea stacks that you know is very inaccessible and linked only by these bridges and so forth it would be a miserable place to live. It would be cold and damp and wet, but it produces a lot of explains a lot about the personality of the Ironborn.

The two castles

Credit: HBO

Westeros is home to numerous iconic castles, each with its own rich history and significance. George R.R. Martin revealed Winterfell and Pyke as his favorite castles in the series. Winterfell symbolizes strength and resilience with its massive walls and central Godswood, while Pyke, perched on cliffs, represents the fierce independence of House Greyjoy. These castles are testaments to Martin’s meticulous world-building and play integral roles in the story of “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

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