Are the castles/cities in Lord of the Rings realistic?

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is one of the more visually realistic medieval fantasy films, but just how realistic are the cities and castle like structures?

[jpchris]

You've missed out a massive point with Minas Tirith - It was originally built as a fortification - not a city - Osgiliath was the capital.

[ganryu]

Some points: 1. Edoras only exists to govern the rest of Rohan. Only the politicians live there, and they import all their goods from the farming communities that we never see. Their wall/palisade was only meant to keep critters out. 2. Minas Tirith is somewhat hollow, with tunnels and chambers inside to house more people. Here, there should be farmland, however, and that farmland around Minas Tirith and Osgiliath is mentioned in the books. 3. The Hornburg was used to shelter the people of Rohan in times of need. They would leave the poorly defended cities and towns of Rohan and travel to Helm's Deep and the Glittering Caves when a foreign army invaded Rohan while the Rohirrim cavalry dealt with the invaders. It was never meant to be a long term dwelling. It was not built by humans, but by Dwarves during the First Age, who mined the Glittering Caves, then gifted to the Men of Rohan who re-purposed it as a refuge. For Dwarves, those ramparts are perfectly sized, as is evidenced my Gimli's inability to see over them. Also, where that door should be but isn't, there used to be a massive iron door there, but it fell into disrepair and was removed. Again, all mentioned in the books.

[MrValidusLupus]

Fun fact about the Hornburg - during filming, Weta made the gate's doors so sturdy that they actually couldn't break it with the ram for a long time. It got to a point where they had to start removing internal sections of the door to get it to break like we see in the movie.

[MrKrusten]

I noticed something that no one has pointed out yet. Shad says why are the walls of edoras so pitful despite the impressive craftsmenship of Minas Tirith?
Well, Minas Tirith wasnt built by the humans we see in the movie. It was built by Numenoreans. A human race so superior, they could almost match elves. When their island/kingdom was flooded by the sea and they went back to the mainland, they created 2 kingdoms but slowly vanished over a long period of time. Minas Tirith is one of the few artifacts left by the numenoreans. The Kingdom of Arnor for example, was completely destroyed.

[MasterGhostf]

I believe Minis Tirith wasn't that big of a city, the original capital after all was Osgiliath which is massive. And of course the rest of population is further south.

[darekwroblewski]

7:08 No he wouldn't, the king's means of transportation include throwing himself off that cliff whilst on fire.

Edit: to everyone saying it's not the king, IK I'm just using the same words Chad Shad did. I've read the books and watched the movies.

[TacticalSquirrel]

To be fair, Minas Tirith didn't have stairs. It was a up-spiral road that lead from the bottom to the top. The king could have road his horse downward, as Gandalf rose his to the keep.

[Tomoose]

Yeah, the lack of farmland always bothered me in LoTR. It seems like Hobbits are the only race who actually farm in the movies.

[jimalbi]

About Minas Tirith, the books describes a long wall extending almost half the way from the city to the Anduin.
Also, they describes the fields of Pelennor as being mainly farmlands.

[tommoose]

I think Rohan’s walls are more primitive because all the major structures like Midas Tirith were built at the height of Numenor and the skills have been lost. Even Gimli comments on the age of the stonework when entering Minis Tirith.

[firstwolf]

Have you ever considered designing your dream castle for purpose of defending against medival assault? Taking everything you know into considerance, such as optimal suroundings, not just the castle itself.

[skyguy]

From what I remember there is a long wall called Rammas Echor that encloses the Pelennor Fields. This is the first line of defense.

[ibarakiman]

If I ever need a castle built, I know who to contact.
"Design my castle to be an absolute turd to attack"

[Destructor]

Minas Tirith was not built by the "modern" humans of LOTR, it was built by the Numenoreans, ancient long-lived men from a vanished island in the west. They built the various fortresses of the world, but then went into decline. Their stoneworking knowledge was lost - that is why Edoras is so much more primitive-looking than Minas Tirith.

[cpine]

The books describe these places more realistically than the movies do.

[Jagrofes]

9:00

I mean, Minas Tirith literally translates to “Tower of the Guard” from Sindarin, Previously called Minas Anor, “Tower of the Sun” and ruled by Anárion from Osgiliath.

The original Capital of Gondor was Osgiliath, and Minas Anor was built to protect it.

[charlesguelcher]

I'm just always amazed how good their battlefield clean up is. Thousands killed, and not a drop of blood to be seen by the next day.

[sanderlillebraten]

In the books Minas tirith's Pellenor fields are all farmland. ITS not shown in the movies

[Burt]

One of the fascinating aspects of Tolkien's works is Decay as an overarching theme. You see it everywhere in the books and films and that aspect alone explains a lot of your misgivings.

[crow]

The books contain much information that answers many questions. And even then, movies always miss something, like the farms, for example. There were farms in the book it self.