Game of Thrones takes place in a barbarous medieval world, draws inspiration from the savage political infightings and incorporates several elements that have become de rigueur in fantasy novels like the sword with names or the daring deeds of arms. But the TV series has more to offer. It demonstrates the brutally human nature and a highly contemporary interest in relative morality, hierarchical injustice and bad faith. Humans have been trained since childhood to tell and listen to stories. The phenomena of Game of Thrones lies in the fact that it meets the people’s needs and transfers them into a state of trance through endless fantasy fictions and continues large-scale storytelling’s during the episodes as well as mysterious cliffhanger at the end of every other chapter. The author of the novels George R. R. Martin uses the medieval fantasy series to create political metaphors and epics for our times that are linked to human history. The series has been praised by critics and has won a Golden Globe and 14 Emmy Awards. Game of Thrones also became the most watched series on the Spanish subscription (Juego de tronos) broadcasting company Canal +.
During the five seasons of Game of Thrones that is based on ”A Song of Ice and Fire” HBO uses many different locations from Malta to Iceland, especially Spain plays a very important role in venue hosting of the series. This July Game of Thrones announced that they have added Navarra as a third location in Spain to their filming scenes in the upcoming Season Six in September. It is the second year in a row that Spain has been chosen to film locations of the popular series.
Here are the Spanish cities that were chosen for filming scenes of the Game of Thrones Season Six:
- Girona: 1 hour away from Barcelona, the city in northern Catalonia has imposing medieval city walls, towers and churches, a Jewish Quarter and four rivers crossing the city. Girona will host the worldwide hit show for at least three weeks in September. Filming will involve the city’s Old Quarter (Barri Vell), where Girona’s highlights are concentrated and two thousand years of history are on display. Rumors have been also pointing out towards the cathedral and the Jewish Quarter as possible sets for the show.
- Peñiscola in Castellon: The seaside resort of Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coast in the Valencian Country has a fortified castle built by the Knights Templar on a headland which rears above the seaside resort. A portion of season six will also be shot in Peñíscola. Peñiscola is about 1,5 hour away from Valencia.
- Navarra: Game of Thrones has selected the spectacular location of Bardenas Reales in Navarra, to the third Spanish location of the Sixth Season. The Bardenas Reales are a semi-desert expanse in south-east Navarra, the Bardenas boast spectacular, near-surreal, rock formations. Due to the fact that Bardenas Reales in Navarra will be the third location for the filming scenes of Game of Thrones Season Six, approximately 3.500 people past through the casting in Tudela on the 4th of July. The filming of the scene for the Sixth Season will take place in September 2015. The Bardenas Reales are about 2 hours away by car from San Sebastián.
HBO begins filming Game of Thrones Season Six in Belfast in late July. Specifics on exactly what locations will be used in Girona and Peñiscola will be unveiled closer to the time of production around September 2015.
Last year the American show’s crew spent 12 days filming in Seville’s Real Alcázar palace to recreate the ‘Kingdom of Dorne’ in the series (an exotic land with a warm climate and an architectural style reminiscent of Arabian building design) and 13 days in Osuna shooting a scene of about four minutes. Cordoba’s Roman Bridge has also appeared in the show.
Here you find more about the Spanish locations of Game of Thrones from 2014:
- Alcázar de Sevilla: Alcázar de Sevilla, in style similar to Granada’s Alhambra, was the perfect spot to represent the Water Palaces of the Kingdom of Dorne. During the shot of Game of Thrones, Alcázar de Sevilla was transformed into the palatial private residence of Martell in the capital, Lanza del Sol. The place is surrounded by green gardens, beautiful pools (“Baños de Doña María”) and owns the Grotto of the Sultans. It is definitely worth to visit. At our school in Granada we regularly visit Seville for weekend trips.
- Plaza de toros de Osuna, Sevilla: You can see the bullring of Osuna in the fifth season, where Tyrion and Daenerys meet in the Arena of Meereen. Plaza de toros hosts one of the show’s biggest scenes and it is the most expensive series scene in the history of television.
- The Roman bridge in Cordoba: The fascinating Roman bridge in Cordoba represents the Long Bridge of Volantis during Game of Thrones. The scences were shot with several cameras and a drone to make it look even longer. The bridge is 247 meters long and it was built by imperial troops in the first century in order to replace the wooden one. At our school in Granada we regularly visit Cordoba for weekend trips.
