Aldera / Legends Aldera was the capital city of Alderaan . It was located near the Triplehorn mountains , nestled on an island at the center of a lake . In addition to being the planet ' s seat of power , Aldera was also an important center of culture and science , comprising the University of Alderaan , several musea and the famous cooking school of the Epicurium . However , it was destroyed in 0 BBY along with the rest of Alderaan , when the Empire saw an opportunity to break in its new superweapon , the first Death Star . Geography . The city of Aldera was built on an island with uneven slopes located in the middle of a lake . That lake was in fact a relatively fresh meteor crater — from a geological point of view , as most of Alderaan ' s ancient craters had been weathered away — which had broken through into the underground aquifers around 30 , 500 BBY . The resulting body of water was surrounded by a series of low foothill areas covered with woodlands and green fields . One of the city ' s edges was bordered by the Triplehorn mountains , the top of which was often shrouded in snow . In the morning light , the waters of Aldera ' s lake shone a sparkling icy - blue . Across the water from the city lay a vast wilderness that was quite close to Aldera , although not part of it . That zone of grasslands contained a small valley from which one could get a glimpse of the capital in the distance . Like the other few metropolitan areas of the planet , Aldera was designed in such way that the natural landscape was little affected . With its gleaming white , free - form buildings standing on the uneven slopes of the island , the skyline of Aldera created an artful bridge between the green fields and white clouds . The climate around Aldera was usually temperate , without excluding occasional light snow . Characteristics . Visitors to the city mostly arrived by air , unless they traversed the lake by boat . Upon reaching Aldera , many outlanders were breathtaken at the white , flowing architecture of the buildings , many of them belonging to the planetary government . The most majestic of Aldera ' s monuments was the Aldera Royal Palace , which housed Queen Breha Organa and her consort , Prince Bail Prestor Organa in the last decades of the Galactic Republic . While the Palace ' s towers were high and occupied a wide stretch of ground , some of the buildings located west of them were tall enough to obstruct the view . In addition to being the royal seat of Alderaan , the capital city was also home to the main core of the most prestigious University of Alderaan and the most high - tech Aldera Universal Medcenter . On a more mundane level , the city also contained a Spacer Quarter — in which many bars and hotels could be found — and a marketplace . The planet ' s primary spaceport was also located in the outskirts of Aldera . The spaceport ' s main docking facility was hosted in a cluster of hemispherical buildings . History . The city of Aldera , the ancient capital of Alderaan , dated back to the founding of many of the galaxy ' s oldest learning institutions . The city was specifically built inside a meteor crater filled with water in order to minimize its impact on the planet ' s surface . The University of Alderaan , established by the renowned teacher and philosopher Collus , was one of the first structures built on the island city — and one of the oldest and most widely revered universities in the galaxy . Although Aldera was perhaps best known for its university , many other prominent buildings housed the cultural and governmental facilities which Alderaan was so well known for . Over time , as powerful individuals seized on the University of Alderaan ' s importance , other teachers came to Alderaan to build their own schools in Aldera , adjacent to the original university . These institutions branched into disciplines including politics , mathematics , cultural pursuits , and the arts . Aldera housed the embassies of off - world dignitaries and would eventually become the political heart of Alderaan . The Aldera Royal Palace was constructed in the planetary capital shortly before 719 BBY , some two hundred years after the Ruusan Reformation . Prior to this , at least until the Cold War of 3653 BBY , the Elysium had been the planet ' s political center . At some point between 1 and 0 BBY , the Star Tours travel agency organized trips to Alderaan as part of their Star Tours Getaway Package . The company ' s StarSpeeder 1000 spacecrafts would notably bring their passengers to the capital city of Aldera . At that time , Alderaan was considered the safest planet in the galaxy . However , the city was destroyed , along with the rest of Alderaan , by the Death Star in 0 BBY . Tens of thousands of Alderaanians had been off planet when it was blown up , allowing them to survive . Gradually , the disparate groups of survivors ended up forming the Alderaan Alliance and moved to New Alderaan . On their new world , the refugees built New Aldera , an exact replica of their lost capital . Behind the scenes . The city of Aldera was first designed by Ralph McQuarrie , who was the conceptual designer responsible for the look of the original trilogy of " Star Wars " . The mountains surrounding Aldera in were modelled after a location in the .