Dragonstone is one of the most crucial plot points in the Game Of Thrones. Its stronghold features heavily in the show once Daenerys reaches Westeros. The castle is built on a volcanic island. It does not only have strategic value, but it holds immense historical significance too.
For Daenerys, the castle always was a home, and for the Baratheons, it was the perfect defense. Since many show fans have not read all of the books, and certainly not maps, they might be confused as to where the island actually is. Below we will tell you exactly that and much more. Let's jump right into it!
Where Is Dragonstone?
The castle of Dragonstone is located on an island island in the Blackwater Bay. It is entirely built from stones and shaped like dragons; and it stands below the Dragonmont. Very close to the King's landing, the smokey Dragonstone island is right on the other side of water from the city. It essentially comes inside the capital region of the Seven Kingdoms as it lies in the Crownlands.
History
Two hundred years before the doom, Valyrians settled on the Dragonstone island. They raised a castle for themselves, used sorcery and magic to shape it like dragons on purpose, so that it instilled fear into those who saw it and installed thousands of gargoyles on the walls. Towards the start of the GoT, we saw Dragonstone as Stannis Baratheon's castle, but actually the island was colonized after Baratheons usurped the throne from the Targaryens in Robert's Rebellion.
After the Baratheons won the war, Robert Baratheon gifted the castle to his younger brother Stannis. Thus, the House Baratheon of Dragonstone came into existence.
Significance For Targaryens
The island holds an extremely intimate and historical value for the Targaryens as it was their ancestral seat. The Targaryens had spent a hundred years on the island since the fall of Valyria. They settled in the castle and slowly assembled their forces and built their reign.
Infrastructure Of The Castle & The Island
Valyrians had built the Dragonstone castle through fire, sorcery and arcane arts. Ancient dragonlords used magic and dragonflames to liquefy and reshape the stones into beautiful dragons. The castle is full of dragon statuettes, dragon-esque framing gates and dragon claws that hold torches.
The Dragonstone castle is full of salty air which smells like smoke and brimstone. It's premises have a yard and a library too. With rough black walls, dragon motifs and reliefs on the walls throughout the castle, it looks more like a military base than a palace.
Heritage
The Dragonstone castle was designed by the Valyrians through their sorcery and long lost ancient stone-masonry skills. It is very robust and has served as an extremely valuable refuge for all it's residents including the Valyrians, the Targaryens and the Baratheons. The island and the castle's demography and infrastructure make it extremely difficult to infiltrate and serve as a remarkable defense.
Why Daenerys Wants To Hold Onto The Island
The Dragonstone island is very close to King's landing and yet it is a tough spot to attack because it's across waters. The castle is very tough to breach and doubles up as a strong defense. Daenerys' army returned to Dragonstone because of these factors. It is very easy for her army to move and take King's Landing from Dragonstone island rather than from Winterfell.
Strategic Value
Right from the start, even before the series began, Dragonstone island has held an immense strategic value. Much before Targaryens got to call it their own ancestral seat, Valyrians settled on the island and shaped it the way it is today.
All the houses which ruled the Seven Kingdoms in their own time entrusted the Dragonstone in capable hands as the island is very strategically located and embedded with harbors. To secure or invade the entire kingdom, a single conquest on this island was sufficient, as Targaryens had proved effectively.
Age Of The Castle
The Dragonstone island is volcanic and after the Valyrians, Targaryens were the first in the current times to settle there. The age of the castle itself is more than five centuries. In the words of Stannis Baratheon, the island itself was and is nothing. It had no gold or gems to lure Valyrian nobility, all the island or the castle has, is stone.
The Prince Of Dragonstone
The Prince of Dragonstone was a title given to the next male heir of the Iron Throne. After Aegon I united the entire Seven Kingdoms, a tradition was started, to on the title of the Prince to the most able-bodied heir, who was next in line. While King's Landing became the primary holding of the King and his kin, Dragonstone was made the palace of the heir.
General Trivia
Gaztelugatxe is an islet in Spain which features in GoT as the Dragonstone island. In reality, a church originally from thousand years ago, is at the center of the islet. There is a long footbridge from the mainland which runs to the historic architecture that has survived gazillion wars and battles. As Princess Daenerys came home to the much talked about castle in the show, thousands of fans too actually walked to the real life location, to bend their knees.