Helgen

It is one of the only Friendly settlements located in Falkreath Hold, apart from the City of Falkreath itself and Half-Moon Mill. Other settlements can be added as you progress through the Story line, e.g. Stormcloak / Imperial camps.

Helgen is the very first place the player will experience once they start the game.

Background
Helgen was a thriving town and keep on the southern border of Skyrim with Cyrodiil. Before its destruction, the Keep was controlled by the Imperial Army.

On the 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201 Helgen was attacked and destroyed by Alduin, which allowed the Dragonborn to escape the execution. The named residents of Helgen, besides Haming, are not seen again after the Dragonborn's escape, and it is assumed that they either perished during the attack or were led to safety by the Imperial troops. A few in-game days following the events, a small group of bandits will begin to take refuge among the ruins of the town, (the lock on either gate must be picked, or one of the bandits can open it ). The damage caused by Alduin's attack will be evident, with most of the town razed to the ground, and blackened corpses lying amongst the ruins. The bandits are led by a bandit chief, their gear is randomized.

It has a few distinguishing features; a wall, which is unusual for smaller towns, when certain Hold Capitals do not have a wall. It also has a large keep, which is unusual for anywhere but forts and walled Hold Capitals. When you add in the lack of Hold Guards in a settlement, the increased amount of Imperial Soldiers and Banners, it is possible it was the (former) headquarters of the Imperial Army rather than a town controlled by a jarl.

Related Quests

 * Unbound

Characters

 * Gunnar
 * Ulfric Stormcloak
 * Hadvar
 * Ralof
 * Vilod
 * Matlara
 * Torolf
 * General Tullius
 * Dragonborn
 * Imperial Captain
 * Imperial soldier
 * Stormcloak soldier

Behind the Scenes

 * In Swedish, "helgen" means "the weekend". However, the Swedish counterpart is pronounced "heljen".
 * In Norwegian, "helgen" means both "the weekend" and "saint". The latter being the most probable name.
 * As with Norwegian, "helgen" means "saint" in Danish.

Trivia

 * The Mead with Juniper Berry is most likely a reference to the comment which Ralof makes during the cart ride into Helgen at the start of the game; "I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with Juniper berries mixed in."
 * If you stand in front of General Tullius too long while Alduin is attacking he will shout "Run, you idiot."

Bugs
Sometimes in the opening cinematics the gates of Helgen will shut causing the cart in front of the players cart to halt, causing the player's cart to collide with it. The carts will then shake and possibly be flung in random directions. To resolve this, simply restart the game.

Sometimes the burnt house's and wood will glow a bright orange even after the fires have ceased months ago. To resolve this just fast travel back.

Occasionally, the horse pulling the cart the Dragonborn is riding in may start swaying around in the air, still attached to the cart, causing it to stop moving and therefore stopping the first quest from happening.

Alduin may sometimes attack, yet the people carry on as normal, standing around talking. No know fix apart from restarting the game.