The Witcher Filming Locations Guide: Where was The Witcher filmed?

The Witcher, based on the international bestselling book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, is one of the most-anticipated shows of the year. The first eight episodes of season one are only the beginning of a planned six-part series. The fantasy world of The Witcher combines epic tales, magic, horror and mythical creatures like elves, vampires and all kinds of monsters. They live and die in a universe full of fantastical locations like Cintra, Aretuza, Blaviken, Temeria or Nilfgaard.

The Witcher, that is also well-known as a video game series, stars Superman Henry Cavill as the solitary monster-hunter Giralt of Rivia, The Witcher. The main cast is completed by young English actress Freya Allan playing Princess Ciri of Cintra and Anya Chalotra as the hunchbacked sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has created a Netflix hit product that will inevitably be compared to Game of Thrones. However, the new dark fantasy series is something completely different, closer to the tone of the 1987 adventure classic The Princess Bride.

The first season of The Witcher was filmed on location in Hungary, Austria, the Canary Islands (Spain) and Poland. We keep updating and completing this report with new details about the filming locations of the show. Also we've tried our best to keep spoilers at bay!

The town of Blaviken in the Continent is the first location of the series, after the kikimora's scene in the forest (the giant spider beast). Geralt of Rivia was nicknamed the Butcher of Blaviken after the events that happened in the first episode 'The End's Beginning', featuring an amazing fight scene. Most of Blaviken was shot at Mafilm Studios near Budapest, in a large set that included the wizard Stregobor's exterior household. The Cintran hall, pictured below, is a set built in Origo Studios, also headquartered near Budapest.
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map

The inner courtyard of wizard Stregobor's house is the Jaki Chapel (Jáki kápolna) cloister, situated opposite Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. Image courtesy of Netflix and Tzu Tzu - Map

Fort Monostor (Monostori Erod) is a 19th century fortress located in the city of Komárom, at the Hungarian-Slovakian border. Here is where some of the exterior scenes taking place in Cintra, home of Princess Ciri, were filmed. The production was also shooting scenes in the surrounding forests. The Battle of Marnadal, where the Cintran army fights against the legions of Nilfgaard, were shot in the hills of Csákberény, a village in Hungary west of Budapest. Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps

The school of magic of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers Aretuza is The Witcher‘s Hogwarts. Tor Lara, aka the Tower of the Gull, is the most potent place on the continent. The location was built up, using some digital magic over the Roque de Santo Domingo in Garafía, a rocky islet facing the northwestern coast of the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). The scenes from episode 2 with Geralt and the bard Jaskie travelling through some arid landscapes, were filmed in the Barranco de Fataga in Gran Canaria island.
Image courtesy of Netflix, Frank Vincentz and Google Maps

The village where Yennefer comes from, appearing at the beginning of the second episode 'Four Marks', was shot in the Szentendre Skanzen Village Museum. The scenes with Ciri in a town with a windmill from episode 7 were also filmed here. This Hungarian open air museum, situated only 20 miles north of Budapest, features a traditional architecture village and the beautiful church belfry pictured, a design characteristic of the Upper Tisza and Maramureș County regions in the Carpathian basin. Image courtesy of Netflix and Jinpal Song - Map

The exteriors of the abandoned castle Vizima in the icy kingdom of Temeria from episode 3 'Betrayer Moon', were recorded at Kreuzenstein Castle (Burg Kreuzenstein) in Leobendorf, Austria. Located around 20 miles north of Vienna near the Danube river, it was rebuilt in the 19th century on the remains of an early medieval fortress. The interiors of Wyzima, where the striga fight takes place, were filmed at Origo Studios in Budapest.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Uwe Brodrecht - Map

The graduation ball in Aretuza, where Yennefer debuts her new body, is the Kiscelli Museum in Óbuda, an old 18th century monastery. This historical place has been reconverted into the Municipal Picture Gallery of Budapest. Also the conclave of the Northern Mage's room was filmed here. Image courtesy of Christo and Map

The Brokilon Forest, home of the dryads, appears first in the four episode 'Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials'. It was filmed in the dense jungles of La Palma island. The production shot at La Zarza (Garafia), Los Tilos Waterfall (Los Sauces) and in the Cubo de la Galga fern forest (Llano Molino). In real life these lush rainforests look as magical as in The Witcher. The vision scene of Ciri in the desert was shot in Gran Canaria island, in the Natural Dune Reserve of Maspalomas. Image courtesy of Netflix - La Zarza Map / Los Tilos Map / Cubo de la Galga Map / Maspalomas Map

The section of the episode where Yennefer is protecting Queen Kalis of Lyria, opening multiple portals, was filmed in several locations on Gran Canaria island. The fight in the top of a mountain range, featuring huge rocks, is the Canarian landmark Roque Nublo. The desert scene was also shot in Maspalomas beach. The field with yellow flowers is near the village of Tejeda. Yennefer ends up in the black sand Guayedra beach in Agaete, also used in the landing of episode 8. The town with red walls is a set in Mafilm Studios.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Roque Nublo Map / Guayedra beach Map

The house in Rinde where Yennefer attempts to become the vessel for the djinn in the fifth episode 'Bottled Appetites', is the Tata Castle located near Lake Oreg. Image courtesy of Netflix - Map

Most of episode 6 Rare Species was recorded in La Palma island (Canary islands). There are several scenes filmed in the Llano de las Brujas (The Plain of Witches), and at the Cumbrecita viewpoint. The expedition camp was shot in the volcanic scenery on the top of Roque de los Muchachos. However, the dragon's lair was shot back in Hungary in the Szelim cave near Tatabánya. Image courtesy of Netflix - La Palma Map / Szelim cave Map

In episode 7 'Before a Fall', Yennefer stops by a Nilfgaard archaeological dig in a red-yellow hills landscape. This is the Geological Park of Bauxite Mining in Gánt, Hungary. Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps

The filmmakers really wanted to shoot in Poland, the country of writer Andrzej Sapkowski. They choose the ruins of the castle in Ogrodzieniec (about 60 km northwest of Krakow), to film the battle of Sodden for the last episode of The Witcher season 1 'Much More'. Image courtesy of Netflix and Philip Milne - Map

There are also several scenes in the ramparts of the citadel filmed at Az Egri vár másolata, a fake castle in Pilis (Hungary). This castle was built in the 1960s to shoot the epic Hungarian movie Egri csillagok. IMDb and Redanian Intelligence are our two recommended sources of information to stay updated about the series shooting locations and news. Image courtesy of Netflix and Szenti Tamás - Map

Can you help to improve this article about the filming locations of The Witcher? To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!

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