Whiterun Whiterun ( Dovahzul : ) is one of the nine major cities in the province of Skyrim , it is the capital of the Whiterun Hold region of Skyrim . Whiterun is well - known throughout the Empire for being the trading capital of Skyrim , due to its convenient location , surrounding the Hold capitals of Skyrim . Description . Geography . Whiterun is located in the central tundra of Skyrim , along the White River that flows from Falkreath Hold to Eastmarch . The area around Whiterun is very open , stretching far to the Sundered Hills of the Reach . The area is very versatile , filled with all sorts of game , ranging from Deer s and Mammoth s . Farms and other settlements riddle the area such as the township of Rorikstead and the fortress of Greymoor , although they are more prevalent around the Whiterun outskirts . The roads of Whiterun connect to most of the hold capitals , Dawnstar is mostly a straight path north of Whiterun , and south - southwest leads directly to Falkreath . The hill known as Skyforge was the foundation of Whiterun ' s construction , the city grew around the landmark . Throughout the area , there are several Whiterun defense towers , safeguarding the roads around Whiterun . The Western Watchtower is in between Whiterun and Greymoor . The northern road has the Whitewatch Tower in between Whiterun and Heljarchen Creek . Whiterun is a well - fortified city with watchtowers all along the border . The western gate is the only entrance to Whiterun , which is heavily fortified , with a drawbridge connecting the city . The city is divided into three districts . The Plains District is the lower level of Whiterun ; it is where the common - folk reside and trade amongst each other . The Bannered Mare is the most popular inn in the city , it is located on the eastern end of the Plains District , adjacent to the market square in the center of the Plains District . The Wind District is the second level of Whiterun , and it is the home of the nobility in Whiterun , as well as , other notable groups . The Temple of Kynareth is located in the center of the Winds District , parallel to the Gildergreen Tree , an ancient tree that grew from the Eldergleam Tree of Eastmarch . The eastern side is the home of the Companions and the Skyforge . The Companions stronghold was the first building in Whiterun . Finally , there is the Cloud District , which is the home of Dragonsreach , which was where the trap was built by Olaf One - Eye to trap the great dragon Numinex . History . Merethic Era . Jeek of the River & the city of Whiterun . After the Night of Tears , Ysgramor and his Five Hundred Companions purged the Snow Elves and inhabited the province of Skyrim . Many of the Companions had spread out throughout Skyrim , moving westward into the modern - day West Skyrim . One of the many Atmoran pioneers was Jeek of the River , who sailed from Atmora on the mighty ship named the Jorrvaskr with his crew . The crew of the Jorrvaskr embarked onto Skyrim from the northeast and defeated the Elves in their path . One of the members , Jonder the Tiny , went ahead and witnessed the great plains of modern - day Whiterun Hold , a vast open grassland with no end in sight . He looked over and saw and rocky hill with a large bird monument and a searing fire under its wings . This monument would be named the Skyforge . And so , the Jorrvaskr crew began constructing their stronghold Jorrvaskr , and as time went on , they built a new city , circling on the running of the White River . Thus , the city of Whiterun was born . First Era . Olaf One - Eye ; the Tale of Numinex . During the First Era , High King Borgas was killed by the Wood Elves of the Wild Hunt , ending the Ysgramor Dynasty , a new High King was needed to rule over the province of Skyrim . Tension would rise , starting the War of Succession , where the Jarl s of Skyrim would fight each other for the position of High King . Around the same time , the great Dragon named Numinex was terrorizing Skyrim while the Jarls were warring against each other , no one would defeat the Dragon . At this time , the Jarl of Whiterun was Olaf One - Eye , he decided to take the initiative to fight against Numinex atop his lair in Mount Anthor . The Battle atop Mount Anthor was fierce , but in the end , Olaf One - Eye had won and trapped Numinex into his new castle called Dragonsreach . Because of this feat , the Jarls had settled down and named Olaf One - Eye , the new High King of Skyrim . So another conflict would not start , the Jarls created the Pact of Chieftains in 1E 420 , where a Moot would be convened to determine the next High King after a dynasty . Olaf the Liar & Svaknir ' s Vendetta . Olaf One - Eye was considered a hero throughout the whole province , but many people felt that there was something else to the story , something wrong . Many people accused Olaf of fabricating a tale about an epic battle so that he could gain the praise and become the High King of Skyrim . One person that accused the King of this was Svaknir , alumni of the Bards College in Solitude . Svaknir had claimed a different tale . Knowing that his time was ending , Numinex flew all across Skyrim , burning villages before leaving to Mount Anthor where he would rest in peace . By the time Olaf One - Eye and his men arrived onto Mount Anthor , Numinex was weak and near - death . Olaf ' s men captured Numinex and took them to Dragonsreach , imprisoning him . Those men that helped Olaf had become wealthy leaders during Olaf ' s reign . In the end , Olaf One - Eye was buried in Dead Men ' s Respite and imprisoned Svaknir there , leaving him to die . Second Era . The Kingdom of Western Skyrim . During the reign of the Akaviri Potentate , the province of Skyrim was ruled by High King Logrolf , who was a close ally of Versidue Shaie and was unfortunately assassinated around the same time in 2E 431 . Eyes were looking towards Freydis , Logrolf ' s daughter , assuming she would become the next High Queen leading Skyrim into the future . Controversy would soon arise from the Kingdom of Solitude , when Jarl Svartr would claim that Freydis was illegitimate for the throne and that a moot was required to determine the new leader . The Moot had spoken , and the leaders of Skyrim voted for Svartr to become the High King . However , the Crown of Verity , the one that has chosen the High King for generations since Olaf One - Eye had chosen Freydis to become the High Queen . The province became divided , the Nords of the Old Holds followed Freydis while the Nords of West Skyrim followed Svartr . Skyrim had split into two separate kingdoms which would later affect the province for the next few years . The city of Whiterun , as well as the Whiterun Hold region , would join the Western Skyrim Kingdom . Barenziah the Young ; Adventures of Youth . After Tiber Septim ' s conquest over Morrowind , the royal daughter of the King of Mournhold was taken by Symmachus , a Dark Elven General of the invading force . The young child was named Barenziah , and she was taken to the outskirts of Whiterun , to the township of Darkmoor where she would be supervised by Count Sven Advensen , a veteran of the Tiber Wars . Barenziah grew up as a proper noble but had yearned adventure outside ; she would occasionally escape Castle Darkmoor to wander off from time to time . During her stay , she befriended a donkey - brained stable boy named Straw out of pity , for he was a bumbling oaf . Straw told Barenziah about a conspiracy against her , saying that she would be sold as a concubine to the King of Rihad , so the two hatched a plan to escape Darkmoor to the nearby city - state of Whiterun . To flee the Castle , Barenziah dressed as a boy and took up a job as a Caravan Guard with Straw , the two then headed to the city of Whiterun , arriving at dawn . During their stay in Whiterun , the two teenagers lived out in the poor district of Whiterun , staying in a shanty inn in the area . Her disguise was effective , despite her dark skin and vibrant red eyes , she blended into the crowd , but she still had to hide since most Dark Elves are not found in Whiterun . With the gold that they took from Darkmoor , the two lived in the inn , enjoying decent meals , celebrating their escape , and having vigorous sex until they fell asleep . Time eventually came when the two had to leave Whiterun and move eastward to the province of Morrowind . The two hooked jobs as Caravan Guards for a group heading to the city of Riften , which is near the border of Morrowind . The two left for Riften where Barenziah would reunite with Symmachus and eventually become the Queen of Mournhold . Straw would later die a horrible death . Third Era . Whiterun during the Imperial Simulacrum . During the Imperial Simulacrum from 3E 389 to 3E 399 , Emperor Uriel Septim VII was imprisoned along with Talin Warhaft in the Deadlands by Jagar Tharn . Tharn planned for months to capture the throne , and he was able to achieve so in the span of ten years . Tharn had a powerful weapon called the Staff of Chaos , and he split it into nine pieces and scattered them across Tamriel , the staff was the only thing keeping Uriel Septim and Warhaft in Oblivion . A warrior escaped his clutches and traveled all corners of Tamriel to retrieve the missing pieces . The hero was known as the Eternal Champion , and he assembled the staff and defeated Jagar Tharn at the Imperial Palace . The Eternal Champion had at one point visited the city of Whiterun in their quest to recover the pieces . The city of Whiterun was under the rule of King Asgis . Jsashe the Witch - Queen ; the Deceiving Tyrant . During the waning years of the third era , the city - state of Whiterun was ruled by Jsashe , the Witch - Queen and the Priestess of Lorkhan . Her rise to the throne of Whiterun is mysterious , recently , the group known as Horme and several natural attacks have plagued the Kingdom of Whiterun and other settlements including Hrothgar . A vast majority of the citizens had blamed Jsashe but had unexpectedly exalted her to the seat of power in Dragonsreach . She would earn the moniker of the Witch - Queen . Jsashe had a massive amount of control in the land , though her magic did not bring prosperity into her domain . Jsashe would continue to rule over the city of Whiterun into the fourth era . Luckily , the Nordic Kingdoms in the North were doing way better in the long run . Fourth Era . The Last Dragonborn of Prophecy ; the Dragon Crisis . During the Skyrim Civil War in 4E 201 , the city - state of Whiterun was ruled by Jarl Balgruuf the Greater . Balgruuf was a well - spoken man who put his people first then the problems occurring throughout the province . During the conflict , Whiterun was aligned with the Imperial Legion in the conflict , but Balgruuf was focused on protecting his people from the Dragon Crisis . Around this time , the township of Helgen was razed by the World - Eater Dragon named Alduin , and a survivor traveled to Whiterun , to warn the Jarl about the recent dragon attack . Giving a convincing story , Jarl Balgruuf sent a militia to the township of Riverwood to protect them from other threats and sent the survivor to obtain the Dragonstone for the Whiterun court - wizard , Farengar Secret - Fire . Sometime later , the lost Dragon known as Mirmulnir had attacked the Western Watchtower in between Whiterun and Greymoor . The survivor and a group of Whiterun Guards traveled to the outpost and fought the dragon . The survivor had ultimately killed Mirmulnir , and the dragon ' s soul had enveloped the warrior . This event would reveal the Last Dragonborn of prophecy . The Plan to trap Odahviing ; the Dragonslayer . The Dragon Crisis had taken its toll on the residents of Skyrim , and so an end to this conflict need to come to fruition . After learning Dragonrend through the Elder Scrolls , the Last Dragonborn had battled Alduin at the Throat of the World , temporarily defeating the World - Eater . After the battle , Alduin escaped to the ancient temple of Skuldafn rooted in the Velothi Mountains . Through the wisdom of their teachers , the Last Dragonborn learned a shout that summoned an ally of Alduin named Odahviing , the plan was to summon Odahviing and to interrogate him on Alduin ' s whereabouts . With the help of the Jarl of Whiterun , the Last Dragonborn was able to snare Odahviing inside of Dragonsreach , the prison of the Great Dragon Numinex of ye old . In the end , Odahviing took the Last Dragonborn to Skuldafn , where they would eventually traverse Sovngarde and defeated Alduin , once and for all .