Dragonheart Location Tour

A little over a year ago, I happened to catch a documentary that briefly showed Spiš Castle. Something stirred in my mind—"Haven’t I seen this before?"—and yes, I had: in Dragonheart. That film was shot there 30 years ago and released in 1996. I ended up watching it on VHS two years later, and it left a deep impression on me—so much so that it ultimately set me on the path that brought me here today.

That moment sparked the idea to travel to Slovakia and stand in the very place where Draco once was.

The idea lingered for a while until, by chance, I mentioned it to Tilondrion. He was immediately on board, and so we set off this May to make it happen.

For anyone wanting to follow in our footsteps, here’s a map of the locations we discovered and visited. If you add a few more stops along the way (we even went as far as the Ukrainian border), you can easily do the whole trip in a week without it feeling rushed.

But before diving into the individual filming locations, let’s start with a picture of that mentioned Spiš Castle above, itself—one of the largest castle complexes in all of Europe.

Čachtice Castle

This is where the opening scene was filmed, in which Einon is shown learning swordplay from Bowen. Draco doesn’t appear here at all.

The location can be reached via a 4-5km long hjike but can be quite steep at places. If you want to avoid it come in from the road to the south and not up from Visnove.

I’m only uploading two of the scenes for now, but there are actually around six different ones that were shot here. If you are interested ill add some more.

Strecno Castle stands atop a rocky hill surrounded by lush green trees and a river below; the ancient stone walls and towers are partially restored, evoking a sense of history and dramatic grandeur under a cloudy sky

Image showing the courtyard. On the upper image the dragon lays bound in chains, while the lower image shows the same courtyard with a view of the castle walls and the surrounding landscape. The contrast highlights the transformation of the location from a scene of captivity to one of freedom and restoration.

Strečno Castle

This is the castle where Einon has the people mistreated and essentially enslaved. He rides in and out across the bridge multiple times. Later on, Draco falls there—and it’s also where he dies.

The location is accessible via a fairly steep, but short hike directly from a parking spot by the road.

It’s striking to see how much the trees around the bridge have grown since then, and the castle itself has undergone significant restoration and safety enhancements over the years..

Vodná nádrž location from Dragonheart. The upper image shows the dragon falling into the lake, while the lower image shows the same location without the dragon.

Vodná nádrž - Dragonsplash

This is where Draco “falls” into the lake after he and Bowen begin harassing Einon’s lackeys. Bowen shots an arrow at Draco which he catches. This is a hommage at the Scene in the Book "The Hobbit" where Smaug gets show the same way.

Finding this spot was quite challenging. It only appears in a very brief scene, and the visual clues are minimal. I spent over four hours examining all the possible mountains in the area. What made it even trickier was that I initially dismissed this location because there’s quite a bit of infrastructure visible in real life. But the filmmakers managed to find the one angle where the town is completely out of frame. If you look closely, though, you can spot two power poles in the background.

To archive the splash effect they had a helicotor drop a big weight into the water

Východná location from Dragonheart. The upper image shows the dragon and bowen from behind, walking over the field. The lower image shows the scene without them, today.

Východná - The Old Code

One of my favorite scenes from the film was shot here. I love the way it blends Draco’s lighthearted attitude with a meaningful, serious conversation—it's a beautiful transition from humor to depth..

The location has changed significantly over the past 30 years. A new forest was planted, and the trees have already reached full height. The original camera position is now difficult to access without trees blocking the view, but the hills and mountains in the background are still clearly recognizable.

For the film, they even planted an old variety of wheat—one that would have existed in the time the movie is set. It was removed again at the end of filming.

Officially, the site is off-limits, as it lies along a long private road and is located on private property. However, there's a nearby horse farm you could plausibly use as a reason for being in the area..

Tomášovský výhľad location from Dragonheart

Tomášovský výhľad / The Camp

This stunning location is in Slovenský Raj (Slovak Paradise) National Park. The hike up takes about ~3 hours and is well worth it on its own. Freestanding rock formations like this are rare to see, and the view is absolutely breathtaking.

This is where Bowen and Draco set up camp, and it’s also the place where Draco receives his "human pronounceable name" from bowen.

The filmmakers clearly used a small camera crane to capture the exact perspective seen in the film—likely to avoid showing the nearby town. The shot is taken from about 3–4 meters lower than what’s possible to achieve on-site without equipment, so the viewing angle doesn’t match perfectly.

Kamenný raj

Another one of those scenes that’s just so funny—I absolutely love how natural and real the conversation feels.

Once again, the vegetation here has grown significantly over the years. Still, the rock Draco sits on is clearly recognizable. There’s no official path down to the spot, and the slope is extremely steep. However, since the area is popular with climbers, there’s at least a faint trail leading down.

Spišský hrad / Avalon

This is the scene that touched my heart back then—and still does today.

The rain scene (linked above) was filmed in the upper third of the lower courtyard. The dramatic approach to Avalon over the water isn’t possible in real life—there’s a town in the way. It’s the only scene in the movie where the location was heavily altered with CGI.

The castle is very easy to reach, with a convenient parking lot nearby. It was also the only filming location that had a small plaque acknowledging Dragonheart was shot there.

Standing there was a moving and peaceful experience—it was hard to pull myself away.

About the Dragons

Tilondrion

Dragon of the Lake and Mountains. Always ready for the next castle exploration.

Akulatraxas

Dragon of the Grasslands and Canyons. Passionate about movie locations and burning castles.