Strongest Castle/(s)? When it comes to lasting a heavy siege?

[Kaibaman]

I've heard somewhere that Winterfell's walls are rather weak. If that's the case then couldn't a concentrated barrage of heavy onagers or trebuchets be able to bring the walls down? Now I'm sure Winterfell can make up for this fatal flaw in other ways but in my experience of playing total war, weak walls are a huge vulnerability to any castle because with enough firepower you can crack them wide open and just get your soldiers to storm the castle more easily.

[Balerion the one eared cat]

Probably Casterly Rock. The way it is described in TWOIAF it seems more like a hollowed out mountain than a castle, with rich gold mines inside it to boot. It is basically the Lonely Mountain from the Hobbit.

The Lannisters are lucky that ASOIAF dragons don't care about treasures. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lmao:

None of the typical medieval siege weapons like towers, trebuchets or sappers would do anything to it at all. So the enemy would have to try to batter their way throughout the entire mountain with rams. Good luck with that.

http://i.picpar.com/To9.jpg

If the situation starts getting really dire you can try to use your gold to bribe the enemy army into leaving.

Just better hope that no one pulls a Tywin and fills in the gaps and diverts a river into your castle...

Personally I'd choose the Eyrie (pretty much impregnable...not being able to access food could be an issue, though), Storm's End (magic walls, apparently, and possible to smuggle food in) or Winterfell (possibly also magic walls, double curtain wall, and also has greenhouses so you can continue to grow food throughout the siege. You could, in theory, last a very long time.

[thelittledragonthatcould]

Just better hope that no one pulls a Tywin and fills in the gaps and diverts a river into your castle...

Castamere was underground so was vulnerable to that attack, Casterly Rock is not underground but built into a rock.

[Ser Hodor Hodor of Hodor]

if you really think the eyrie is worthless you clearly don't understand westerosi warfare and politics.

it is extremely difficult to conquer any part of the seven kingdoms without dealing with the rulers, because it means you would have to defeat all their bannermen and be able to control them. as long as the lord of the vale is holding his castle he will be considered the legitimate ruler. the eyrie is perfect to keep the lord and his family save without needing a huge force to protect them, so most troops can fight the invaders using guerrilla warfare or assemble an army big enough to chase them out of the vale or even defeat them completely.

what makes the eyrie so valuable is that there are no siege weapons which could be used to storm it and the only way to take it is to besiege it for years. you simply cannot lay a siege for years while being in a hostile environment especially when it is complicated to bring in supplies.

btw i don't recall the eyrie being inhabitable during winter, iirc it is only said the arryns come down in winter, but that might just be because it is very uncomfortable up there and complicated to have visitors and bring supplies, so as long as you have no reason to stay there, why would you? it simply doesn't mean it is impossible to stay there.

[thelittledragonthatcould]

btw i don't recall the eyrie being inhabitable during winter,

From the world book:

In winter, ice and snow and howling winds make the ascent impossible, and the castle itself uninhabitable, but in summer the castle is bathed by cool, fresh mountain breezes, a welcome refuge from the sweltering heat on the valley floor below.

[eyenon15]

how wide the path is going to the Eyrie. Could it be used like in a Thermopylae type way?

[Gustaf Stark]

Either Storm's End or the Eyrie. Storm's End was built to withstand the rage of gods and the Eyrie due to the fact how much twoiaf claims it to be impregnable.

[Wavey Sauce]

I've heard somewhere that Winterfell's walls are rather weak. If that's the case then couldn't a concentrated barrage of heavy onagers or trebuchets be able to bring the walls down? Now I'm sure Winterfell can make up for this fatal flaw in other ways but in my experience of playing total war, weak walls are a huge vulnerability to any castle because with enough firepower you can crack them wide open and just get your soldiers to storm the castle more easily.

i think thats right but having 2 outer walls that are high is pretty good to have

[TheNinjaDC]

I've heard somewhere that Winterfell's walls are rather weak. If that's the case then couldn't a concentrated barrage of heavy onagers or trebuchets be able to bring the walls down? Now I'm sure Winterfell can make up for this fatal flaw in other ways but in my experience of playing total war, weak walls are a huge vulnerability to any castle because with enough firepower you can crack them wide open and just get your soldiers to storm the castle more easily.

Winterfell's walls are not weak, at least not the taller inner wall which was built by the same person who built The Wall, and is rumored to have built Storm's End as well.

[Arrow of the Morning]

Casterly Rock, practically a castle inside a mountain, similar that the dwarf cities of the Lord of the Rings. Is enormous, have his own docks and can stock a lot of food.

Storm's End and Eyrie are strong too. Harrenhal enter in the list if it is fully repaired and garrisoned.

[Bluetiger]

how wide the path is going to the Eyrie. Could it be used like in a Thermopylae type way?

I imagine it similar to this: https://youtu.be/UxAJNszn6DA

[Lemonking]

if you really think the eyrie is worthless you clearly don't understand westerosi warfare and politics.

it is extremely difficult to conquer any part of the seven kingdoms without dealing with the rulers, because it means you would have to defeat all their bannermen and be able to control them. as long as the lord of the vale is holding his castle he will be considered the legitimate ruler. the eyrie is perfect to keep the lord and his family save without needing a huge force to protect them, so most troops can fight the invaders using guerrilla warfare or assemble an army big enough to chase them out of the vale or even defeat them completely.

what makes the eyrie so valuable is that there are no siege weapons which could be used to storm it and the only way to take it is to besiege it for years. you simply cannot lay a siege for years while being in a hostile environment especially when it is complicated to bring in supplies.

btw i don't recall the eyrie being inhabitable during winter, iirc it is only said the arryns come down in winter, but that might just be because it is very uncomfortable up there and complicated to have visitors and bring supplies, so as long as you have no reason to stay there, why would you? it simply doesn't mean it is impossible to stay there.

You either beat the Vale army or you don't but the Eyrie won't play any role in that. I am not saying the Eyrie is easy to take, just that it is easy to ignore but you can't ignore armies.

Look at the Riverlands, Robbs army got destroyed and the Lannisters,Freys and Brackens just wait outside the remaining castles for the defenders to starve. The same happen during Blackfyre, Robert or Greyjoy rebellions.

[Dofs]

I wonder about their fresh water, do they rely entirely on rain water? The Rock is on top of a big rock, it won't have any wells, Storm's End is also at an edge of a tall rock, there's unlikely to be a well in there. If you have hundreds or maybe even thousands of men, each will need about a gallon of fresh water a day, tons of rain water each day for the whole force, so I wonder how it all works.

Another thing that i wonder about the Casterly Rock is all those tunnels that they dug into the mountain in search for gold, and everyone knows that they exist. How much could that compromise their defense? Maybe not at all, I don't know.

Casterly Rock is not on the top of the rock, it's the rock itself.

Just better hope that no one pulls a Tywin and fills in the gaps and diverts a river into your castle...

Not only CR is above sea level, like it was already said, It's literally standing by the sea. How would a river flood it (which I believe does not even exist there) when the entire sea doesn't?

[Poodle Pup From Astapor]

Casterly Rock is not on the top of the rock, it's the rock itself.

How do you pronounce potato?

[Ser Greenseer]

I've heard somewhere that Winterfell's walls are rather weak. If that's the case then couldn't a concentrated barrage of heavy onagers or trebuchets be able to bring the walls down? Now I'm sure Winterfell can make up for this fatal flaw in other ways but in my experience of playing total war, weak walls are a huge vulnerability to any castle because with enough firepower you can crack them wide open and just get your soldiers to storm the castle more easily.

Don't know where you heard that. Winterfell is protected by two massive granite walls.

[Veltigar]

The Eyre is in Martins world building described as one of the best castles. But is it? I mean, all you have to do is block it with 500 men and do whatever you want with the rest of the vale. The same goes for Storms End and even for WF.

I think your doing a disservice to WF here. Those hot springs need to be protected, they make settling the place far more easy and WF is probably one of the few places up North that wouldn't really be affected by a truly harsh winter. Add the symbolic value, accumulated by thousands of years of Stark rule. And finally, WF position right in the Northern center makes it an ideal place to administer such a huge kingdom from. The Lord or King Stark can easily transport his army to wherever it's needed from WF.

[Veltigar]

What I always wondered about WF was the moat between two walls. Is there any historical precedent for that?

Every castle can get taken, depending on circumstances.

Listen carefully to me Casterley Rock/Stormsend/Highgarden/Hellholt you are going to get taken.

[Kyll.Ing.]

As I said, I can't really understand why people think Storm's End is so hard to besiege. Okay, you need an army and a navy, but closing the approach to the castle isn't that hard. You need to guard that tunnel by the sea very well, but otherwise, it's just to sit down and camp in the grassy field outside the walls. You won't need to storm the place, you besiege it, and that won't give you any more concerns than most other castles by the sea. Starfall, the Wolf's Den, Seagard, Kayce, the Crag... camping and waiting will do the trick in the end. Storm's End is a hard castle to take by storm, but besieging it is a picnic compared to Sandstone, Moat Cailin, or just about any Northern castle in winter.

[John Doe]

As I said, I can't really understand why people think Storm's End is so hard to besiege. Okay, you need an army and a navy, but closing the approach to the castle isn't that hard. You need to guard that tunnel by the sea very well, but otherwise, it's just to sit down and camp in the grassy field outside the walls. You won't need to storm the place, you besiege it, and that won't give you any more concerns than most other castles by the sea. Starfall, the Wolf's Den, Seagard, Kayce, the Crag... camping and waiting will do the trick in the end. Storm's End is a hard castle to take by storm, but besieging it is a picnic compared to Sandstone, Moat Cailin, or just about any Northern castle in winter.

The same goes for every other castle, Winterfell, Casterly Rock... you just have to sit outside the walls.

[Led]

By the way, there is a lot of talk about different siege weapons that could bring down this and that castle... But exactly which types siege engines do we know are even in use in Westeros?