The City of Falkreath: An excerpt from “An Explorer’s Guide to Skyrim (2nd ed.)
Author’s preface: … I had thought of updating Carvain’s guide to cover some of the less visited cities in Skyrim. While not every city could be like Whiterun or Solitude, a different kind of traveller may perhaps appreciate the more hidden gems in the province…
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Falkreath is a low-lying city that garlands the base of a large grassy hill. A long ribbon of Imperial road leads from Helgen and winds its way past a rich green forest, all the way to the city gates. Due to its location, it is not a popular destination for travellers. Only those with business in this quiet southern city tend to stop over, as Helgen is a much livelier settlement that is also conveniently located at the crossroads to the other major cities. However, if one is able to look past the dour Falkreathmen and their sombre moods, Falkreath actually has much to offer a discerning visitor.
Falkreath Hold is a densely forested region, and this has largely shaped the development of its city. Over the centuries, Falkreath Hold has been shuffled between Cyrod and Nordic rulers, and has alternately been a royal hunting preserve, a lair for outlaws and highwaymen, and (more recently) the site of various logging settlements. The origins of modern-day Falkreath can be traced to the influx of Cyrodilic and Nordic trading interests setting up logging settlements in the Hold over the past two centuries, after the then-Jarl agreed to award commissions for the woodlands to be cleared. These logging settlements eventually either died out (as the lumber ran out), or (in Falkreath’s case) outgrew themselves and merged into a city.
Because of its origins as a collection of logging towns, it is common to see remnants of this history in and around Falkreath. On the way into the city, its discarded leavings – old waterwheels, moss-grown huts, and empty clearings – are visible just off the Imperial road. In the city itself, low-slung, single-storey logging cabins and longhouses are jumbled alongside new and taller wood-and-stone buildings. While more new buildings have sprung up as the city continues to modernise, it is not unusual for one to suddenly chance upon a logging cabin hunkered down between two contemporary Imperial-style dwellings. Some of these logging cabins remain occupied as residences, while others have since been repurposed.
Falkreath is split into five boroughs, each historically a different logging settlement. Each borough (save for the Government Borough) is governed by a municipal officer who ultimately reports to the Jarl:
The Government Borough is the smallest, but perhaps the most important. This is the seat of the Jarl’s Longhouse and of Falkreath’s administration. The Jarl’s Longhouse is a repurposed logging cabin, and as such lacks the grandeur of other palaces in other cities. It is used mostly for ceremonial events.
The Southern and Western Boroughs are the centres of trade and industry in Falkreath. A traveller coming to Falkreath for business or trade will gravitate to these areas. The Western Borough is filled with warehouses, silos and workshops, due to its proximity to the farms and lumber mills at the western edge of Falkreath. The Southern Borough contains various counting houses and local banks.
The Eastern Borough is where the wealthier neighbourhoods of Falkreath are located. Stuhn’s Commons, the largest park in Falkreath, is located here. Various hunting lodges are also found in the Eastern Borough.
The Northern Borough is dominated by the great cemetery. Several funeral homes and service providers, as well as the local temple of Arkay, can also be found here.
Wood products and carvings are popular in Falkreath. The homes and houses in the city invariably bear an intricate engraving or two, or are subtly adorned with wooden sculptures or talismans carved in the shape of the local beasts and birds. I remember spending a whole afternoon wandering the streets of Falkreath, trying to spot engravings hidden in the woodwork, or marvelling at the lifelike (or sometimes stylised) deer and hawks that are so popular with the citizens. Bewilderingly, depictions of death, skeletons, and Arkay are also very fashionable.
I highly recommend taking the time to experience Falkreath city on foot. While carriages and rickshaws are available for getting from place to place, there is a charm in Falkreath that one is likely to miss unless one takes the time to appreciate it. Unlike the hustle and bustle of larger modern cities, Falkreath is quieter and more sedate. Birdsong is common even in the streets, and in the distance one can hear the rhythmic echoes of the lumber mills surrounding the city. The main roads are wide and easily walkable, formerly trails for the lumberjacks and their carts that have since widened with the increased foot traffic. The main roads splinter off into thin dirt paths that wind their way into the cramped back alleys, where Falkreathans hawk trinkets or foodstuffs from their homes through open windows. If one bothers to ask around, the locals will also be willing to direct the inquirer to their favourite public houses in a particular borough. These public houses, run by local citizens, offer simple lodging and food for a few septims. The proprietors also sometimes brew their own ales, which I found to be heady and rich (but often just a little too sweet for my tastes).
In keeping with its history, Falkreath also maintains various small parks within the city. These parks were formerly clearings, and the stumps of old cut trees have been varnished and now serve as stools for the weary. The parks are popular with children as well as with old Falkreathmen who gather to play chess, a Hammerfell board game. The largest park, Stuhn Commons, is located in the Eastern Borough.
Due to the availability of game in the forests of Falkreath Hold, various hunting lodges have also taken root in the city. These lodges tend to be members-only clubs, and cater to serious hunters. However, some lodges also offer simple hunting supplies and guide services to the casual wayfarer.
The most notable feature of Falkreath is its huge cemetery, located on a small hill at the north-western edge of the Northern Borough. According to local legend, this might have been the site of an old Nordic barrow. The local historians are uncertain whether the logging settlements started up around the hill, or eventually grew to encompass it. Regardless, it is a source of great interest, and of macabre pride for the Falkreathmen. The cemetery on the hill overlooks the dwellings and is immediately visible once past the city gates. Meaningfully placed gravestones (some old and moss-covered, others fresh and new) dot the hill. The road to the cemetery is well-travelled by visitors or pilgrims, and it is a good twenty minute walk from the main square before the Jarl’s Longhouse. At the base of the hill is the Hall of the Dead, a small temple dedicated to Arkay. The temple is run by the local priest, Runil and his assistant, Kust. For a small fee, Kust will also take you on a visit to the gravestones of the more illustrious members of Falkreath, and give a short explanation of their histories. The temple also sells wooden talismans and amulets carved in Arkay’s likeness, which Kust claims will ward off bad luck and minor evil spirits.
Notable locations/events in Falkreath:
Gray Pine Goods is a major general goods store found in the Western Borough of Falkreath. Here one can find a wide selection of locally made wooden souvenirs. The store is connected to a large courtyard, where one can see various craftsmen working on carvings or engravings to be sold. Gray Pine Goods also sells dry goods for provisioning, as well as some local snacks. The pine nut biscuits are particularly addictive. The proprietor Solaf is a rich font of local stories of Falkreathan and Skyrim war heroes (if one can get past his thick Nordic accent).
Grave Concoctions is an apothecary run by Zaria, a Redguard immigrant from Hammerfell. The shop is a repurposed logging cabin, and Zaria has kept some of the interesting touches from its former inhabitants, such as the stuffed bear and the elk head trophy. Apart from herbs and concoctions, Zaria also sells various mild poisons which she says is popular with hunters. Grave Concoctions is found in the Eastern Borough.
In keeping with the local macabre sense of humour, a famous local inn is named the Dead Man’s Drink. The Dead Man’s Drink is popular with both locals and visitors, and is located in the Southern Borough. The inn offers simple rooms, and well-cooked local game. Remember to ask the innkeeper, Valga Vinicia, for the roast pheasant, which I found to be especially tasty. Valga also brings in juniper berry mead from nearby Helgen, which I thought was easier to drink than the local ale.
The Hall of the Dead and the great cemetery are both located in the Northern Borough. One of the largest graveyards in Skyrim that is open to the public, it is the resting place of the recently dead and (purportedly) long-dead Falkreathan folk heroes. A tour through the cemetery is a stark instruction of one’s mortality. Tours are conducted by the local gravekeeper, Kust, thrice daily for a small fee. The temple also sells talismans and amulets, if one should like a souvenir of the visit.
The Corpselight is a public house run by Oglaf Olursson, and is recognisable by the iron lantern that is hung on the front door every evening. This is well-frequented by local labourers and farmers who live in the Western Borough. Oglaf brews his own ale, which I found the most drinkable of the public houses in the city (as understandably there is a lack of professional consistency). According to Oglaf, his ale is made from the wheat and barley grown from a family farm, which (unsurprisingly) is known as Corpselight Farm, and which is run and managed by Oglaf’s son, Mathies.
There are many parks that can be found in the various boroughs in Falkreath. The largest is Stuhn Commons, a large grassy estate in the Eastern Boroughs. Stuhn Commons was implemented by the current Jarl Dengeir during the early days of his Jarlship, and is maintained by the borough government. Entrance into Stuhn Commons is free, and is not uncommon for the Falkreathmen to congregate in the park on Loredas and Sundas for leisurely activities. Vendors selling boar sausages and candied almonds can be found scattered across the park. The Commons is open from 8 in the morning to 7 in the evening. Overnight squatters are actively discouraged and directed to the local public houses by the patrolling guardsmen.
Unlike in other Nordic cities, Tales and Tallows is a major festival in Falkreath, and it bears none of the negative connotations held by the other Nords. The Falkreathmen start their preparations a week before the 3rd of Heartfire, hanging coloured lanterns and wooden talismans outside their homes, and carving pumpkins into grinning ghoulish faces which are then placed around the city. On the 3rd, the citizens don masks and wander the streets, offering candies and other sweetmeats to each other. According to the locals, this is the night when the dead are most likely to return, and masks are worn to prevent the dead from recognising and haunting their former family and acquaintances. Candies and sweetmeats are offered and eaten to indicate that one is a living person. Whether this is true or was born from real events has been lost to time, and the Falkreathmen treat the night as one for celebration and revelry. Stores and public houses stay open late on Tales and Tallows, and offer food and drink for sale.