Bleak Falls Barrow (Location)

Bleak Falls Barrow is an ancient Nordic tomb in. It is a large temple built by ancient Nords to worship dragons.

It is one of many places where the ancient Nords had buried their dead, and as such, the Barrow is infested with aggressive draugr. There may be a dragon perched on the arch outside the temple if enough of the main storyline has been completed, otherwise there will be a small number of bandits guarding the outer parameter of the temple. The exterior of the ruin is very impressive with its stone arches, and only a few ruins, such as Ragnvald and Skuldafn, do also have such impressive exteriors. The structures can even be seen from the map.

Description
The first section of Bleak Falls Barrow that is encountered is known as Bleak Falls Temple. This is an underground-style dungeon rather than the normal ancient Nord style of dungeon. There is also an inner section, Bleak Falls Sanctum, which is blocked by a Nordic puzzle door that only the Golden Claw can open, after the puzzle is solved. The answer to the puzzle is on the palm of the golden claw.

Bleak Falls Barrow (Quest)
During the course of the main quest, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater will ask the Dragonborn to assist his court wizard Farengar Secret-Fire with his research into dragons. He wants the Dragonstone, an ancient tablet with a map of Dragon Burial Mounds, retrieved from Bleak Falls Barrow (the first ancient Nordic ruin to be discovered in the main questline).

The Golden Claw
Lucan Valerius, in the Riverwood Trader, may ask the Dragonborn to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve his sister's Golden Dragon Claw, which was stolen by bandits. This quest can be completed simultaneously with the Bleak Falls Barrow quest.

Fetch Me That Book!
Urag gro-Shub from the College of Winterhold may want the Dragonborn to fetch a particular book from Bleak Falls Barrow.

Enemies

 * Bandits
 * Draugr
 * Frostbite Spider
 * There is one "Wounded" Giant Frostbite spider in the chamber with Arvel which acts as a mini-boss.
 * Skeever
 * Dragon
 * Dragons can be waiting outside the exit behind the Word Wall despite not completing the quest; this allows random dragon encounters, however, they are not part of the dungeon itself. (Confirmed on PS3 and Xbox 360.)
 * Frost Troll
 * A Frost Troll may be encountered near the Watchtower leading to Bleak Falls Barrow and inside the Temple itself if one is a high enough level. Completion of Bleak Falls Barrow (Quest) is not required.

Notable items

 * Pickpocket Skill Book - Thief  Located on a table just after the "Symbol Trap Door"
 * Golden Claw
 * Dragonstone

Other items

 * There is a strongbox and apothecary's satchel, both containing random items, on the outside of the left hand temple wall, (if facing the temple door from the outside look to the left, walk to the corner of the temple, turn right, and continue to the end of the wall - they are in the corner).
 * A chest with an apprentice lock up the stairs to the right of the first set of swinging blades.
 * Two hidden treasure chests in the Word Wall room behind waterfalls on either side of the Word Wall.
 * There is a chest hidden in the cobwebs next to a lootable skeleton, which contains random loot, just before fighting the frostbite spider and cutting down/killing Arvel the Swift.
 * Upon exiting the Sanctum and before jumping off the cliff, there will be a random potion tucked in a crevice to the left of the exit (if facing outward).

Trivia

 * This location does reset enemies and chests after a time. However, it does not generate an additional Dragonstone or the NPC and quest item required in The Golden Claw.
 * A Dragon may appear after exiting Bleak Falls Barrow if the player has completed the quest, Dragon Rising.
 * This was the first dungeon and respective quest seen by players of Skyrim. As it was shown in the very first demo.
 * There is a bandit outlaw seen trying to open the puzzle, but gets shot by the poisoned arrows for failing.
 * The exterior of Bleak Falls Barrow has four large beautifully carved stone archs. These arches were very common in ancient Nord architecture, and because the ancient Nords who built the gigantic barrow were Dragon worshipers, stone Dragon heads can be seen on top of the arches.
 * Sometimes after clearing the ruins, fast traveling back after a while can result in several draugr battling some leveled Bandits near the entrance of the ruin.
 * If the Dragonborn has not yet spoken to Lucan Valerius about his missing "ornament", upon entering the barrow, they will overhear two bandits talking about it, thus beginning the quest "The Golden Claw"
 * Although the enemies reset after a period of time, like most dungeons, the enemies within Bleak Falls Barrow stay at the same level they were when first encountered, resulting in a place which is good for testing newly enchanted weapons or learning a new skill.
 * If you complete Unbound with Hadvar he will say that as a child he had nightmares about Draugr climbing down the mountain and taking him away.

Bugs

 * The puzzle to open the gate by turning pillars may not work; the pillars won't turn when activated. Exiting the cave and re-entering or saving and reloading may fix this.

Appearances


Túmulo de las Cataratas Lúgubres (Lugar) Ödsturzhügelgrab Ветреный Пик