Harrenhal
Held in 298 AC by House Whent — and, some say, by a curse
- House
- House Whent
- Region
- The Riverlands
- Raised by
- Harren the Black, last Hoare king of the Iron Islands
- Age
- Finished the very day Aegon came ashore — and ruined the same day
The stones themselves
Harrenhal is the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms and the most ill-omened. Harren the Black raised it over forty years to be beyond the reach of any foe, five towers taller than any in the land, walls thick enough to laugh at rams, a hall to seat a thousand. He forgot the sky. Its stone is so scorched and slumped that the towers look like melted candles, its halls too vast to heat, its stables large enough to lose a village in. Every house granted it has ended in blood or extinction, so that the whole grim, gaping ruin feels less like a seat than a warning.
Famous halls and features
The five towers
Kingspyre, the Tower of Dread, the Widow's Tower, the Tower of Ghosts, and the Wailing Tower — misshapen by dragonfire, each named for the fates that found the men who held them.
The Hall of a Hundred Hearths
A cavernous feasting hall said to hold a hundred fireplaces and yet never come warm, so great is the space above the tables.
The melted stone
Battlements and towers slumped and fused where Balerion's fire washed over them, cooled into shapes no mason ever cut — the castle's ruin worn openly, forever.
Sieges and history
Where the story of Harrenhal touches the great chronicle of the realm — follow each thread back into the timeline.
A legend of Harrenhal
Harrenhal is cursed, and the roll of its holders reads like an argument for the belief: Harren and all his sons burned in a night; House Qoherys, House Harroway, House Towers, House Strong, House Lothston — each granted the castle, each ended in madness, murder, or the failure of their line. The maesters call it coincidence, ill upkeep, and the ruinous cost of maintaining so vast a pile. The rivermen call it a curse, and decline, politely, to live there.
Beyond the chronicle's edge
Whose banners fly over Harrenhal in the war of the five kings is a matter for those who have marched that far.
Estas separações nomeiam mortes, desfechos e estradas ainda não percorridas nos livros. Desvele-as apenas se ambas as estradas te forem conhecidas — ou se não temes saber.
Common questions
Why is Harrenhal cursed?
Every house granted Harrenhal has met ruin — starting with Harren the Black and his sons, burned alive on the day it was completed. Later holders died out or fell to madness and murder, giving the castle its reputation for ill luck, whether by curse or by the crushing cost of maintaining it.
Why does Harrenhal look melted?
On the day Harren finished building it, Aegon the Conqueror attacked with his dragon Balerion. The dragonfire was so intense it slumped and fused the castle's stone towers, which cooled into their present half-melted shapes.
Is Harrenhal the biggest castle in Westeros?
Yes. Harrenhal is the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms by far — its walls, towers, and halls were built on a colossal scale by Harren the Black, so vast that later holders could never properly garrison or heat it.
Who built Harrenhal?
Harrenhal was built by Harren the Black, the last Hoare king of the Iron Islands and the Riverlands. It took forty years and was meant to be impregnable — but was ruined by dragonfire the day it was finished.