Lore:Haafingar

(also called Haafingar Hold  and the Kingdom of Solitude)  is a relatively small, mountainous, coastal   in northwestern Skyrim.  Its capital is the famed city of  , and the two are sometimes treated as one and the same.  Solitude is perched atop a large rock outcropping known as the Great Arch, towering high above the Solitude Inlet, which is found at the end of the   and the massive Karth delta. However, Haafingar is far more than just Solitude. The Karth River allows for a great deal of commerce in Solitude and the town of   in the   (mostly in timber and fish), and the long   with the   is littered with frozen shipwrecks and treasures.    and its associated mountains take a large portion of the hold and it is filled with caves and ruins where bandits and creatures make their homes.

The hold shares borders with two other holds,   to the south and   to the southeast, and the province of   borders it to the west, the Forgotten Vale found between the hold and Wrothgar. The mountains of Haafingar are only the tapered end of the  , an enormous range of jagged mountain peaks to the south which rise up among the clouds of the Reach. 
 
History

Given Solitude's obvious importance as a major city, many forts and castles were established around the hold to deter and defend from attackers. Most have fallen into disrepair or have been completely demolished.

In  , after the death of  , his mother, Potema, turned Haafingar for the next 10 years to the land of death. Stories of the ancient Wolf Queen being waited on by rotting skeletal chambermaids and holding war plans with vampiric generals terrified her subjects. 

In  , the Jarl of Solitude,   was declared Emperor. Unlike most Emperors he ruled mainly from Solitude and not the Imperial City. Almost from the start of the reign of Pelagius III, the eccentricities of his behavior were noted. He embarrassed dignitaries, offended his vassal kings, and, on one occasion, marked the end of a grand ball by attempting to hang himself. His madness is speculated to have been caused by Potema the Wolf Queen, whose own insanity was said to have been infused in Castle Solitude, infecting the next king to rule there.

In the  , following the Great War, the   established an embassy in these mountains from which to root out the worship of   in Skyrim.  
 
Notable Places
thumb|right|The Haafingar border circa  
;Bards College: A prominent institute of music and history for the aspiring Skalds in Skyrim
;Blackbone Isle: A secluded island and the final resting place of Cyrus' crew
;Blue Palace: The Jarl's seat of power in Solitude
;Broken Oar Grotto: A large cavern connected to the sea, situated north of Solitude
;Cascabel Hall: A castle known for producing the finest apples in the Empire
;Castle Dour: The headquarters of the Imperial Legion within Skyrim
;Castle Volkihar: A large fortress on an island far west of Solitude, north-northwest of Northwatch Keep
;Dragon Bridge: A small town built near the ancient iconic Dragon Bridge over the Karth River
;Fort Hraggstad: A fort located north of Dragon Bridge
;Karth River: A river flowing from Markarth to Solitude
;Kyne's Aegis: An isle off Haafingar's northern coast that was once a bastion of the Dragon Cult
;Mount Kilkreath: A sizeable mountain that occupies much of the region and is the site of Nordic ruins connected to Meridia
;Northwatch Keep:  A medium-sized military fort used by the Thalmor
;Thalmor Embassy: The Third Aldmeri Dominion's diplomatic mission to Skyrim, which serves as the center of Thalmor activity in the province
;Forgotten Vale: An isolated region of Skyrim once inhabited by the Snow Elves to worship the God Auri-El
;Solitude Lighthouse: A stone building on the northern coast of Skyrim that helps to guide ships into Solitude harbor
;Wolfskull Cave: A cavern occupied by cultists of Potema the Wolf-Queen
;Volskygge: An ancient Nordic ruin found on the coastal mountains

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Skyrim article.

References