In Search of Winchester in Hungary – The Last Kingdom Set
I only started watching The Last Kingdom recently and consumed all 4 series just like that! It’s a brilliant show and set during a fascinating part of English history as the Saxons fought off the Vikings and tried to build what would become England out of a number of smaller countries. The show itself is really well done and quite compelling viewing. Recently, watching some videos of cast members ‘a day in the life of’, I discovered it is filmed largely just outside Budapest. Yes, the lockdown is to blame…
Anyway, this weekend, I went to Hungary – to Budapest – for the first time since the borders re-opened in central Europe. On Saturday, we set off on a quest to find the Winchester in Hungary….
We travelled first to a film studio west of Budapest where we thought perhaps the show was filmed. Its a pretty large place with several huge buildings and outdoor sets but I did not recognize anything. They were doing a tour but it would be only in Hungarian and included nothing much from the show. They did tell us the set was nearby but would not tell us where.
Korda Studios website reveals the Last Kingdom set as ‘medieval backlot’ and as you can see, it’s a huge facility. It is located in the village of Etyek – a beautiful and famous wine making area of Hungary. As the RadioTimes reported..
Vicky Delow, producer on Netflix‘s The Last Kingdom, said: “I think the main set is a huge part of the show’s success. It’s an incredible place to be. One of the most amazing things about it is when you drive to it, you drive over a hill and the whole thing is revealed before you.
“And even though it’s a mishmash of different streets and different towns, it’s incredible to look at and it’s incredibly detailed… It’s a beautiful, wonderful thing to behold and you really do believe it when you see it on screen.”
Not to be stopped, we started googling and soon discovered the name of the village (Göböljárás). After a wrong turn and a bit of a detour, we eventually found the village and as luck would have it, stumbled on the set immediately. Access was not restricted (although you could not get in the set). As Vicky Delow says above, you come to the brow of a hill and look down and there it is….
The location is beautiful and set by a large lake where there is a large fishing club. It didn’t take me long to realize that the area covered in large reeds was where the Alfred burns the cake sequences were also filmed and we found the set built among the reeds as well. I’m sure the cast must enjoy staying in the area and the beautiful Hungarian scenery.
With objective achieved, I set about taking a whole bunch of photos before we went in search of an open restaurant…
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