Game of Thrones: Top 10 castles in Westeros, ranked

1. Winterfell

Perhaps the most iconic castle in all of Westeros is the Northern fortress of Winterfell, the ancient seat of House Stark. Located in the heart of the North, Winterfell was built by Bran the Builder thousands of years ago. His descendants ruled as Kings in the North for millennia until Aegon’s conquest, when King Torrhen Stark surrendered to save his house, earning him the nickname the King Who Knelt.

The First Keep is supposedly the oldest part of the castle but is no longer in working order. There is a massive godswood within the walls, a greenhouse for growing food, a small sept, two sets of walls with multiple battlements and an underground crypt. According to Martin’s descriptions, Winterfell is one of the largest castles in Westeros.

During the Dance, Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys is sent as an envoy to the North, and he successfully forges a friendship with the young lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark. We’ll likely see this in the second season of House of the Dragon.

At the start of A Game of Thrones, Robert Baratheon brings a royal host to Winterfell to name Ned Stark his Hand of the King. Ned agrees and leaves his son Robb to rule in his stead while his wife Catelyn attends to their son Bran, who was pushed out of the First Keep by Jaime Lannister. After Ned is taken prisoner in King’s Landing, Robb calls the northern banners and begins assembling an army at Winterfell.

Robb leads his army south to King’s Landing while Bran, Rodrik Cassel and Maester Luwin watch over Winterfell…until Theon Greyjoy turns his cloak and captures the castle for the Greyjoys in A Clash of Kings. Rodrik Cassel is able to assemble a host to retake Winterfell, but Ramsay Bolton and his men betray the northerners. Ramsay captures Theon, kills the Greyjoys and burns the castle.

In A Storm of Swords, Robb believes that all of his siblings are dead except for Sansa, who is a hostage in King’s Landing. This leads him to name Jon Snow as his heir to the Northern throne. The whereabouts of Robb’s will are unknown after he dies at the Red Wedding, but Stannis Baratheon offers to legitimize Jon as Lord Jon Stark of Winterfell. Jon refuses, but if the Game of Thrones TV show is anything to go by, there is a chance that Jon will rethink his decision following the Night’s Watch mutiny.

In A Dance with Dragons, the Boltons take over the North and rebuild Winterfell. Ramsay marries Arya (Jeyne Poole) in the Winterfell godswood while Mance Rayder infiltrates the castle on behalf of Jon and Melisandre. A multitude of Northern lords gather at Winterfell while Stannis marches towards the castle with his army. At the end of the book, Roose Bolton sends the Freys and Manderlys out to attack Stannis while Theon and Jeyne escape with the help of Mance.

Who knows what events will befall these castles in future books (and shows)? Any favorite castles of yours that we missed?

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