Locations in His Dark Materials facts for kids

This article explores the amazing fictional places in the His Dark Materials book series and other stories by Philip Pullman. These are places that exist in different universes, not just our own!

Cool Places in Lyra's World

Jordan College: Lyra's Home

Map showing fictional colleges from Lyra's Oxford.

Jordan College is a made-up college in Oxford. It's in a universe that's like ours but also different. This is where Lyra Belacqua, the main hero of the books, lives.

Jordan College is similar to a real place called Exeter College in the University of Oxford. Philip Pullman, the author, actually went to Exeter College. But unlike the real college, Jordan College is much older, bigger, and richer in the story.

Jordan College is described as a huge, sprawling place. It has many buildings, cellars, and tunnels built over hundreds of years. It's like a giant underground maze!

"What was above ground was only a small part of the whole. Like a huge mushroom whose roots spread for miles, Jordan had started to grow underground centuries ago. Tunnels, shafts, vaults, cellars, and staircases had dug out the earth below Jordan so much that there was almost as much space underground as above."
(Pullman, Northern Lights)

The name 'Jordan' was partly inspired by an area in Oxford called Jericho. This area also appears in Northern Lights as a place where the Gyptians (a group of boat-dwelling people) moor their boats.

For the movie The Golden Compass, the real Christ Church, Oxford was used to film Jordan College. For the TV series, they filmed at New College.

Trollesund: A Northern Port

In Lyra's world, Trollesund is a major port city in a country called Lapland. Lyra and her Gyptian friends visit Trollesund on their way to Bolvangar. The Gyptians go there to get help from the witches.

In Trollesund, Lyra meets two important characters. She first meets Lee Scoresby, a balloon pilot who is stuck in town. She also meets Iorek Byrnison, an exiled armoured bear. The townspeople had tricked Iorek into working for them. Both Lee and Iorek leave Trollesund with Lyra on her adventure.

Svalbard: Home of the Armoured Bears

In Lyra's world, Svalbard is where the armoured bears live. It's the center of their government and where Iorek Byrnison lives. The name Svalbard comes from a real group of islands in Norway in our world.

Bolvangar: The Evil Fields

Bolvangar is a secret research facility far in the north of Lyra's world. Here, a powerful group called the Magisterium does terrible experiments. They perform a process called intercision. This process cuts the special link between a human and their dæmon. Children are kidnapped and brought to Bolvangar for these experiments. The name Bolvangar means 'Fields of Evil'. In Old Norse, "bǫl" means evil and "vangar" means fields.

Cittàgazze: The City of Magpies

Cittàgazze (pronounced Chee-TAH-gah-zay), sometimes shortened to Ci'gazze, means "City of the Magpies" in Italian. It's a fictional city in a different universe. You can reach it through a "window-between-worlds." This window was created by Lord Asriel at the end of the first book, Northern Lights.

In Cittàgazze, the two main characters, Lyra and Will, meet for the first time in the book The Subtle Knife. The city is first mentioned as 'the city in the sky'. It's seen in the Aurora borealis (Northern Lights), which thins the barrier between worlds. Lord Boreal says it used to be a meeting point for all worlds.

Cittàgazze is a town by the sea, like those near the Mediterranean. It feels like it has Italian roots. It has charming restaurants, outdoor tables, wide cobbled streets, and old buildings. But it also has electric lights, refrigerators, and department stores. This world is similar to ours in some ways but not as advanced in others, like medicine or transportation. Its most famous building is the Torre degli Angeli (Tower of the Angels in Italian). This is where the powerful Subtle Knife is first found.

The city is troubled by scary, ghostly beings called Spectres. Spectres are invisible to young children. But once people get older, the Spectres eat their dæmons. This leaves the people like zombies, without life or feelings. Because of this, the city has no adults, only groups of children. Spectres gather around kids who are almost teenagers and consume them as soon as they become old enough to see them.

There are so many Spectres in Cittàgazze because the Subtle Knife is used a lot nearby. The knife can create windows between worlds. But each new window creates more Spectres. When Asriel opened a passage from his world to Cittàgazze, it caused a huge increase in Spectres. This filled the Cittàgazze world with these soul-eating ghosts.

St Sophia's School and College: Lyra's Studies

St Sophia's School is where Lyra goes to learn how to use the alethiometer (a truth-telling device) after the events of The Amber Spyglass. Later, she continues her studies at St Sophia's College. This college is located in Oxford, similar to the real Lady Margaret Hall.

Different Worlds in the Multiverse

The His Dark Materials series explores many different universes. Here are some of the known worlds:

Lyra's World: Where the Adventure Begins

This is the world where Lyra and most of the characters in His Dark Materials come from. The first book, Northern Lights, takes place entirely in this world. This world has six known planets, and the month of April has an extra day!

Will's World: Our Own World

This is our world, the one we live in. It's where much of the beginning of The Subtle Knife happens. It also appears briefly at the end of The Amber Spyglass. This is the home of Will Parry, his parents, and Mary Malone. While dæmons still exist in this world, they are invisible here.

The Cittàgazze World: A Crossroads of Universes

This is a modern world with a Mediterranean feel, beautiful seas, and nice weather. It's where much of The Subtle Knife and parts of The Amber Spyglass are set. The Cittàgazze world acts as a central point for all the worlds because many windows between universes lead here. Spectres have been a problem in this world for a very long time.

Mulefa World: A Unique Ecosystem

This world is home to the Mulefa and Tualapi creatures. It has a climate like a savannah or prairie. The animals here have unusual diamond-shaped skeletons. Much of The Amber Spyglass takes place in this world.

The World of the Dead: A Somber Place

This is the underworld in The Amber Spyglass. Lyra and Will cross a lake to reach its entrance, guided by a ferryman like the mythical Charon. In the books, the spirits of everyone who has ever died from any world go here forever. Their ghosts are guarded by scary Harpies. The Authority (a powerful, ancient being) turned this world into a prison.

Republic of Heaven: A Place of Gathering

This is the name given to the world where Lord Asriel builds his army. He prepares for a war against The Authority. Before Asriel's forces arrived, the only known creatures here were cliff ghasts, similar to those in Lyra's world. The land is very mountainous and shows signs of volcanoes.

Gallivespian World: Home of Tiny Spies

The Gallivespian characters come from this world. However, the main book series never actually visits it. It is a world where humans and Gallivespians (tiny, intelligent beings) are in conflict.

Other Worlds: Glimpses of the Multiverse

• Will briefly sees three other worlds when he tries out the Subtle Knife in The Amber Spyglass:
  • One world is a desert.
  • Another is an industrial city where factory workers are in chains.
  • The third is a meadow with blue, bison-like animals grazing.
• Will, Baruch, and Balthamos escape by cutting through to a moonlit beach in yet another world.
• Will opens a world with a tropical rainforest when showing the Subtle Knife's powers to Iorek Byrnison.
• While saving Lyra from Mrs. Coulter's cave, Will cuts through a world where a bright moon shines over ground that looks like bleached bone, covered in insects.
• Will, Lyra, Tialys, and Salmakia reach the world of the dead from a world that looks like a Dutch or Danish farm. The villagers there had just been attacked by soldiers, and their village was destroyed. The reason for this conflict is never explained.

Images for kids

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  Map showing fictional colleges from Lyra's Oxford.