Skyrim - Locations

Skyrim is full of places to explore. Cities, villages, farms and inns sit along its roads. Caves, ruins, forts and tombs hide in the wilds between them. Every place on the mainland belongs to one of the nine holds.

Every place in the game also has a Location ID. This is the name the game uses for a place behind the scenes. Breezehome, the house for sale in Whiterun, has the ID WhiterunBreezehome. A large place can have several IDs, one for each part. The tables on this page list those IDs next to the name of each place and its hold.

The IDs matter most on PC, where they work with the console. The console command coc, short for CenterOnCell, moves the character straight to a place by its ID. Typing coc Riverwood, for example, moves the character to Riverwood at once.

The Nine Holds

Skyrim is split into nine holds. Each hold is a region ruled by a Jarl, who lives in the hold's capital. The holds also take sides in the civil war between the Empire and the Stormcloaks.

Eastmarch lies in the northeastern corner of Skyrim, on the border with Morrowind. Its capital is Windhelm. Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, the leader of the Stormcloak rebellion, rules it from the Palace of the Kings.

Haafingar lies in the northwest, and its capital is Solitude. It is the center of Imperial rule in Skyrim, and its Jarl lives in the Blue Palace. Hjaalmarch lies just east of it. Its capital is the swamp town of Morthal, and its Jarl lives in Highmoon Hall.

The Pale stretches along the northern coast, and its capital is Dawnstar. Its Jarl lives in The White Hall. Winterhold is the northernmost hold, in the northeast. The College of Winterhold stands in its capital, the town of Winterhold.

The Reach lies in the far west, with Markarth and Understone Keep at its heart. Its land is very mountainous, with the Druadach Mountains running through it. Whiterun Hold sits in the center of the province. Its capital is Whiterun, and its Jarl rules from Dragonsreach. Its open tundra is dotted with farms.

Falkreath Hold lies in the south, around the town of Falkreath, and it is covered in pine forest. Helgen, the town where the game begins, lies in this hold. The Rift is the southernmost hold, in the southeastern corner. Its capital is Riften, and its Jarl lives in Mistveil Keep. Aspen forests cover much of the hold.

Cities and Palaces

Five cities are walled: Markarth, Riften, Solitude, Whiterun and Windhelm. These are the major cities. Each one has a keep or palace for its Jarl. Riften is also home to the headquarters of the Thieves Guild.

The other capitals are smaller towns: Dawnstar, Falkreath, Morthal and Winterhold. Their Jarls live in a longhouse or a hall.

Carriage drivers wait outside the major cities. For a fee, they carry a traveller to the other cities of Skyrim.

Solstheim

The Dragonborn add-on adds Solstheim, a large island in the Sea of Ghosts, northeast of Skyrim. Its main town is Raven Rock on the southwest coast. Raven Rock began as a mining colony of the East Empire Company, and House Redoran now guards it. The north of the island is snowy mountain country, home to Skaal Village. The south is covered in ash.

Tel Mithryn, a wizard's tower, also stands in the south of the island. Raven Rock has its own Location IDs, just like the cities of the mainland.

Places to Explore

Most of the places in the tables are dungeons and landmarks. Caves are the most common kind. Nordic ruins hold ancient tombs full of Draugr. Dwarven ruins hold the machines of a vanished race. Forts, bandit camps, giant camps and Orc strongholds dot the land between the cities.

Other places are smaller landmarks. Mines, farms, mills, shacks and shipwrecks fill in the map. Standing stones grant a blessing. Daedric shrines are tied to the quests of the Daedric Princes. Dragon lairs are scattered across the holds.

Some places lie deep underground. Blackreach is a huge cavern under the northern holds. One of its entrances lies in Raldbthar, a Dwarven ruin in the Pale. Others lie in Alftand in Winterhold and in Mzinchaleft in Hjaalmarch.

Using Location IDs

The console is only available on PC. It opens with the tilde key, the key just below Esc on most keyboards. Typing coc followed by an ID moves the character to that place. A place with several IDs can be entered at any of its parts.

Make a save before using the console. Jumping into the wrong place can skip quest steps or strand a character in a closed area. The ID qasmoke leads to a developer test hall that is unreachable in normal play. Its cabinets hold huge piles of items from the whole game.

To get back from the test hall, use coc again with any normal ID, such as Riverwood.