Jesuit Stairs

Jesuit Stairs in Dubrovnik are the monumental Baroque staircase leading from Gundulić Square up to Bošković Square and the Church of St Ignatius. The stairs are part of the old Jesuit complex in Dubrovnik’s Old Town and were completed in the 18th century. With their broad stone steps, theatrical symmetry and position beneath the church façade, they are one of the most recognisable architectural features in the city’s historic centre.

The location is best known internationally from Game of Thrones (2011–2019), where Dubrovnik stood in for King’s Landing. The Jesuit Stairs were used in the Season 5 finale “Mother’s Mercy” (2015), during Cersei Lannister’s walk of atonement. The scene begins at the top of the stairs, near the Church of St Ignatius, before Cersei is forced down through the streets of King’s Landing completely naked while the crowd follows her and chants “shame”. The real Dubrovnik setting gives the sequence a strong sense of public spectacle, turning the Baroque staircase into the entrance to one of the show’s most infamous scenes.

For filming, the scene used the Jesuit Stairs as the starting point of Cersei’s humiliation, while the rest of the walk continued through different streets in Dubrovnik’s Old Town. Lena Headey’s facial performance was combined with work by body double Rebecca Van Cleave, who performed the nude walk during filming in Dubrovnik. The result made the Jesuit Stairs one of the most visited “Game of Thrones” locations in the city, especially for fans looking for the real starting point of the Walk of Shame sequence.

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