Places from video games: Kingdom Come and DayZ in real life
The castles of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and the Chernarus landscape of DayZ are real places in the Czech Republic. What you will find, what really stood there in 1403 and how to combine the places into a trip.
Places from stories · a guide to real places from video games
Czech game developers like to set their games in real landscapes. Warhorse Studios built both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games around places where real castles, fortresses and monasteries stood in 1403, and Bohemia Interactive modelled the Chernarus map of Arma 2 and DayZ on the Central Bohemian Uplands. Players now travel to find what is real.
We separate what is in the game, what is documented history and where the game takes creative licence. We use no screenshots; this is not an official Warhorse Studios or Bohemia Interactive project.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance I and II
Sixteen places in three areas: the Sázava region from the first game, Trosky and Kutná Hora from the second. A few examples:
- Skalitz (Stříbrná Skalice) – the raid that opens the game really happened: in 1403 King Sigismund’s troops took Skalice.
- Talmberk – Lord Diviš of Talmberk is a real person; his relatives held him captive in the castle for at least seven years.
- Trosky – complete in the game, as it may have looked at its height. It fell only in 1469; today two towers remain.
- St Barbara’s Church – under construction in the game, and rightly so: building began in 1388.
- Sedlec Ossuary – creative licence: by tradition the bones were stacked into pyramids by a monk only in 1511.
All sixteen places are on Kingdom Come: Deliverance in real life. The first game’s places lie within 15 km of each other; Kutná Hora and Sedlec are walkable; Trosky is best on foot. Costumed tours are offered by the official KCD Live project.
DayZ and Arma 2: the real Chernarus
Chernarus is not in Eastern Europe but between Ústí nad Labem and Děčín; the river Elbe became the game’s coast. Arma 2 lead designer Ivan Buchta grew up in Ústí and put places from childhood hikes into the game – the ruins of Blansko Castle became Zub. More on The real Chernarus.
Before you go
- Be considerate. Many places are lived in or private – Talmberk stands among family houses, Pirkštejn is a rectory. Park only in marked spaces and take your rubbish home.
- Seasons. Castles have limited hours in winter; ruins like Trosky or Blansko are reached on marked trails.
- Games build more than stood. On site you will often find a ruin or a later rebuild.
More: film locations, places from books and comics, Places from stories.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Kingdom Come: Deliverance set?
In real places in Bohemia in 1403: the first game around the Sázava river (Skalitz, Rattay, Talmberg, Sasau), the second around Trosky and Kutná Hora.
Is Chernarus from DayZ real?
The Chernarus map is based on the Central Bohemian Uplands between Ústí nad Labem and Děčín. Zub Castle is the ruin of Blansko near Mírkov.
Sources for each place are on our Kingdom Come and Chernarus pages (including Ivan Buchta’s 2012 interview with Kill Screen). Photos from Wikimedia Commons. Pamatky.cz is not affiliated with Warhorse Studios or Bohemia Interactive.