Stronghold

Stronghold
Biomes	Any Overworld biome
Mobs	Silverfish (from monster spawner)
Generates in; existing chunks	No
Consists of	See § Structure; See § Blocks;

There is a related tutorial page for this topic!

See Tutorial:Defeating a stronghold.

A stronghold is an underground structure in the Overworld, and is the only place where an end portal can be found. Strongholds can be located by using an eye of ender.

Generation

Strongholds generate at any Y level, mostly underground, and prefer to generate in biomes above sea level, but generate underwater if necessary. Strongholds may generate at bedrock level, cutting the bedrock.

Most parts of the stronghold can be overwritten by caves, ocean monuments, ancient cities, mineshafts, fossils, amethyst geodes, trial chambers, and monster rooms; but it is rare for the end portal to be replaced, which would force a player to find one of the other strongholds, as a portal can be activated only with all 12 end portal frames present. Canyons do not overwrite strongholds; rather, a stronghold can occasionally be found exposed by a canyon.

Bedrock Edition

In Bedrock Edition, strongholds generate randomly throughout the world and they are at least 160 blocks away from the world origin. There is no limit to the number of strongholds that can generate, unlike in Java Edition. There are 3 extra strongholds at least 453 blocks away from the world origin, which tend to be close to the 453-block boundary, and are guaranteed to generate below meeting points of a village.

Java Edition

In Java Edition, all strongholds are located at random coordinates within rings in all biomes, where each ring is a certain radius from the center of the world (X=0, Z=0). For a given ring, the strongholds are generated at roughly equal angles from the center point of the world (for instance, each stronghold in a ring of 3 is in the region of 120 degrees from the others, measured from the origin). The game does not generate a stronghold partially above ground; any portion above the sea level is replaced with air, leaving a cutaway. If a stronghold generates in an ocean, which occurs rarely, it typically generates with terrain covered above it.

There are eight rings, containing 128 strongholds in total:

The first ring has 3 strongholds within 1,280–2,816 blocks of the origin.
The second ring has 6 strongholds within 4,352–5,888 blocks of the origin.
The third ring has 10 strongholds within 7,424–8,960 blocks of the origin.
The fourth ring has 15 strongholds within 10,496–12,032 blocks of the origin.
The fifth ring has 21 strongholds within 13,568–15,104 blocks of the origin.
The sixth ring has 28 strongholds within 16,640–18,176 blocks of the origin.
The seventh ring has 36 strongholds within 19,712–21,248 blocks of the origin.
The eighth and outermost ring has 9 strongholds within 22,784–24,320 blocks of the origin.

The number of strongholds in each ring is the triangular number of the number one more than the ring number, except for the outermost ring, where 45 would be expected.

The outermost ring has the further unusual property of putting the strongholds at angles of roughly 36° (not the expected 40°) as if there were to be ten equally spaced strongholds, like in the third ring. One of these ten does not generate, however, keeping the number at nine.

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Structure

Strongholds vary in size. They contain several doors and rooms made mostly of stone bricks (45%), mossy stone bricks (30%), cracked stone bricks (20%) and infested stone bricks (5%). Infested cracked stone bricks and infested mossy stone bricks do not generate, unless silverfish enter these blocks.^[1] Strongholds are lit by enough torches to provide visibility in most areas which suppresses mob spawns, while dark areas (light level 0) can spawn mobs. Stairs that generate within these structures include stone brick and cobblestone stairs, but not their mossy variants.^[2]

In generated chest corridors and storerooms, dispersed chests containing a variety of loot can be found.

Rooms

Strongholds feature various types of main rooms. Each room has an entrance, which is either a plain 3×3 opening, a wall with a wooden door, a wall with an iron door (with a stone button on each side), or a 3×3 opening with a gate of iron bars along the top and sides. Rooms may have exits to other room pieces or dead-end "exits" into stone. Additional "passages" between rooms may exist if their generation overlaps or if the stronghold intersects a cave, mineshaft, or other structure. Sometimes, doors can be sealed off by stone bricks in 5-way crossings, resulting in "secret doors".^[3]

Stronghold generation begins with a spiral staircase room with a 5-way crossing at the bottom, with additional rooms being randomly generated from the exits of previous rooms up to a maximum distance of 50 rooms and 112 blocks horizontally. If a portal room is not generated, the generation is redone.

The wooden and iron doors always face the direction the stronghold generates toward, meaning a door flush with the wall always leads away from the starting staircase, and a door indented into the wall leads toward the starting staircase.

End portal room: Contains an end portal and a silverfish monster spawner. There are two pools of 3 lava sources in the front sides of the room and a bigger lava pool of 9 below the end portal, and 16 windows of 2 iron bars in the room, with the entrance, always being a gate of iron bars. In most cases, this room cannot be overwritten by other structures generated around it. Only one generates per stronghold, and it is never within 5 rooms of the starting staircase, although it is less likely to generate farther away from the starting staircase. Each portal frame has a 10% chance to generate containing an eye; the average number of portal frames found prefilled is 1.2. The chance of the portal being completely pre-filled is one in a trillion (1:1,000,000,000,000 or 10^-12).
- In Java Edition, all seeds for 1.16 that have a pre-activated end portal in the first ring have been found.^[4]
Library (see below): 0–2 libraries per stronghold, and never within 4 rooms of the starting staircase.
Large room: A room with three exits (four counting the entrance). The center of the room may have various decorations. 0–6 rooms per stronghold.
- Empty room: Has no decoration.
- Stone Pillar room: Has a stone brick pillar with torches on it.
- Fountain room: Contains a fountain in the center, which consists of a stone brick ring and pillar with a water source block on top of the pillar.
- Storeroom: A dual-level room, each 2 blocks high, with a cobblestone center structure joining the two. A lone torch is housed within the structure. A ladder runs up the sidewall for access to the second floor, which is a chamber made of oak planks containing a loot chest.
Five-way crossing: Has up to five exits (six counting the entrance): one across from the entrance down a short stairway made of smooth stone slabs and stone brick blocks, one each to the left and right of the entrance, one on the left side of the upper level reached by a short stairway made of smooth stone slabs and stone brick blocks, and one on the right side of the upper level across a bridge of smooth stone slabs and double smooth stone slabs over the downward stair. A single torch is on the side of the bridge. In Bedrock Edition, it usually has 1–4 entrances sealed. There is always one crossing in every stronghold as part of the starting point, while an extra 0-4 crossings may also generate.
Empty prison cells: A corridor with one wall partially made of iron bars and with two iron doors (in an "open" position, with no buttons). Beyond each iron door are cells with an iron bar wall between them. An exit is opposite the entrance. 0–5 rooms per stronghold. In Bedrock Edition, no iron doors are generated.
Spiral staircase: A 3×3 spiral stair made of stone bricks and smooth stone slabs, leading down, with an exit at the bottom. Like 5-way crossings, there is always one flight per stronghold as part of the starting point, while an additional 0–5 flights may also generate.
Straight staircase: A 3 block wide staircase of cobblestone stairs leading downward, with an exit at the bottom of the stairs. There is also an empty alcove under the stairs. 0–5 flights per stronghold.
Corridor: A bare corridor with up to 3 exits: one straight ahead, and optional exits to the left and right.
Chest corridor: A corridor with a small altar made of stone brick slabs, with a loot chest on the altar. An exit is on the opposite side of the entrance. 0–4 corridors per stronghold.
Corridor turn: A bare corridor with one exit, left or right. May resemble a small room if both the entrance and the next room's entrance have doors.
Dead-end corridor: A bare corridor with no exits, although it is likely to intersect other rooms. This room type never has a door or gate at the entrance.

Libraries

Libraries occur in two sizes: small single-level libraries and larger duplex libraries. All libraries contain bookshelves, oak planks, and one (single level) or two (duplex) chests, with cobwebs dispersed randomly.

Small libraries usually generate when the second level of the library is blocked by another part of the stronghold. If there are no obstructions, then large libraries usually generate.

Large libraries contain a second level consisting of a surrounding balcony with oak fences as railings, and fences and torches arranged like a chandelier over the center of the room. The two levels are connected by a ladder on the wall furthest from the entrance. No cobwebs generate on the second level.

Libraries are the most well-lit rooms in the stronghold, having enough torches to prevent mob spawning entirely within them.

Blocks

Block
Stone Bricks
Cracked Stone Bricks
Mossy Stone Bricks
Infested Stone Bricks (both generated naturally and if silverfish enters stone bricks)
Infested Mossy Stone Bricks (if silverfish enters mossy stone bricks)
Infested Cracked Stone Bricks (if silverfish enters cracked stone bricks)
Infested Cobblestone (if silverfish enters cobblestone)
Infested Deepslate (if silverfish enters deepslate)
Water
Silverfish monster spawner
Iron Bars
Lava
End Portal Frame
End Portal Block (after lighting the portal)
Torch
Oak Fence
Chest
Stone Brick Slab
Cobblestone
Stone Brick Stairs
Oak Planks
Ladder
Smooth Stone Slab
Stone Button‌
Iron Door‌
Oak Door
Cobblestone Stairs
Bookshelf
Cobweb

Loot

Altars

In Java Edition, each stronghold altar chest contains items drawn from 2 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]		Weight ^[B]		Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Item	2–3×	1×	2–3×	1×	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Nothing^[F]	—	1	—	⁹⁄₁₀	90.0%	0.900	1.1
Apple	1–3	—	¹⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	33.2%	0.750	3.0
Bread	1–3	—	¹⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	33.2%	0.750	3.0
Iron Ingot	1–5	—	¹⁰⁄₁₀₀	—	23.0%	0.750	4.3
Ender Pearl	1	—	¹⁰⁄₁₀₀	—	23.0%	0.250	4.3
Redstone Dust	4–9	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.812	8.3
Gold Ingot	1–3	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.250	8.3
Iron Pickaxe	1	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.125	8.3
Iron Sword	1	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.125	8.3
Iron Helmet	1	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.125	8.3
Iron Chestplate	1	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.125	8.3
Iron Leggings	1	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.125	8.3
Iron Boots	1	—	⁵⁄₁₀₀	—	12.0%	0.125	8.3
Eye Armor Trim Smithing Template	—	1	—	¹⁄₁₀	10.0%	0.100	10.0
Diamond	1–3	—	³⁄₁₀₀	—	7.3%	0.150	13.7
Leather	1–5	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.075	40.3
Music Disc (otherside)	1	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.025	40.3
Enchanted Book^[G]	1	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.025	40.3
Iron Horse Armor	1	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.025	40.3
Golden Apple	1	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.025	40.3
Golden Horse Armor	1	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.025	40.3
Diamond Horse Armor	1	—	¹⁄₁₀₀	—	2.5%	0.025	40.3

In Bedrock Edition, each stronghold altar chest contains items drawn from 2 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]		Weight ^[B]		Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Item	2–3×	1×	2–3×	1×	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Nothing^[F]	—	1	—	⁹⁄₁₀	90.0%	0.900	1.1
Apple	1–3	—	⁷⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	32.3%	0.727	3.1
Bread	1–3	—	⁷⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	32.3%	0.727	3.1
Iron Ingot	1–5	—	⁵⁰⁄₅₁₆	—	22.4%	0.727	4.5
Ender Pearl	1	—	⁵⁰⁄₅₁₆	—	22.4%	0.242	4.5
Redstone Dust	4–9	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.787	8.6
Gold Ingot	1–3	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.242	8.6
Iron Pickaxe	1	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.121	8.6
Iron Sword	1	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.121	8.6
Iron Helmet	1	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.121	8.6
Iron Chestplate	1	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.121	8.6
Iron Leggings	1	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.121	8.6
Iron Boots	1	—	²⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	11.6%	0.121	8.6
Eye Armor Trim Smithing Template	—	1	—	¹⁄₁₀	10.0%	0.100	10.0
Emerald	1–3	—	¹⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	7.1%	0.145	14.1
Diamond	1–3	—	¹⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	7.1%	0.145	14.1
Enchanted Book^[G]	1	—	⁶⁄₅₁₆	—	2.9%	0.029	34.7
Leather	1–5	—	⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	2.4%	0.073	41.6
Music Disc (otherside)	1	—	⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	2.4%	0.024	41.6
Iron Horse Armor	1	—	⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	2.4%	0.024	41.6
Golden Apple	1	—	⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	2.4%	0.024	41.6
Golden Horse Armor	1	—	⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	2.4%	0.024	41.6
Diamond Horse Armor	1	—	⁵⁄₅₁₆	—	2.4%	0.024	41.6

↑ ^a ^b The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
↑ ^a ^b The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
↑ ^a ^b The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
↑ ^a ^b The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
↑ ^a ^b The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
↑ ^a ^b 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.
↑ ^a ^b Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-30 enchantment on an enchantment table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

Storerooms

In Java Edition, each stronghold storeroom chest contains 1–4 item stacks, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]	Weight ^[B]	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Apple	1–3	¹⁵⁄₆₂	47.5%	1.210	2.1
Bread	1–3	¹⁵⁄₆₂	47.5%	1.210	2.1
Coal	3–8	¹⁰⁄₆₂	34.3%	2.218	2.9
Iron Ingot	1–5	¹⁰⁄₆₂	34.3%	1.210	2.9
Redstone Dust	4–9	⁵⁄₆₂	18.6%	1.310	5.4
Gold Ingot	1–3	⁵⁄₆₂	18.6%	0.403	5.4
Enchanted Book^[F]	1	¹⁄₆₂	4.0%	0.040	25.2
Iron Pickaxe	1	¹⁄₆₂	4.0%	0.040	25.2

In Bedrock Edition, each stronghold storeroom chest contains 1–4 item stacks, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]	Weight ^[B]	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Apple	1–3	⁷⁵⁄₃₈₆	40.0%	0.972	2.5
Bread	1–3	⁷⁵⁄₃₈₆	40.0%	0.972	2.5
Ink Sac	1–3	⁷⁵⁄₃₈₆	40.0%	0.972	2.5
Coal	3–8	⁵⁰⁄₃₈₆	28.5%	1.781	3.5
Iron Ingot	1–5	⁵⁰⁄₃₈₆	28.5%	0.972	3.5
Redstone Dust	4–9	²⁵⁄₃₈₆	15.2%	1.052	6.6
Gold Ingot	1–3	²⁵⁄₃₈₆	15.2%	0.324	6.6
Enchanted Book^[F]	1	⁶⁄₃₈₆	3.8%	0.039	26.1
Iron Pickaxe	1	⁵⁄₃₈₆	3.2%	0.032	31.3

↑ ^a ^b The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
↑ ^a ^b The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
↑ ^a ^b The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
↑ ^a ^b The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
↑ ^a ^b The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
↑ ^a ^b Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-30 enchantment on an enchantment table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

Libraries

In Java Edition, each stronghold library chest contains items drawn from 2 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]		Weight ^[B]		Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Item	2–10×	1×	2–10×	1×	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Eye Armor Trim Smithing Template	—	1	—	¹⁄₁	100.0%	1.000	1.0
Paper	2–7	—	²⁰⁄₅₂	—	89.2%	10.385	1.1
Book	1–3	—	²⁰⁄₅₂	—	89.2%	4.615	1.1
Enchanted Book^[F]	1	—	¹⁰⁄₅₂	—	67.8%	1.154	1.5
Compass	1	—	¹⁄₅₂	—	10.9%	0.115	9.2
Empty Map	1	—	¹⁄₅₂	—	10.9%	0.115	9.2

In Bedrock Edition, each stronghold library chest contains items drawn from 2 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size ^[A]		Weight ^[B]		Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Item	2–10×	1×	2–10×	1×	Chance ^[C]	Avg. per chest ^[D]	Avg. # chests to search ^[E]
Eye Armor Trim Smithing Template	—	1	—	¹⁄₁	100.0%	1.000	1.0
Paper	2–7	—	¹⁰⁰⁄₂₇₀	—	88.3%	10.000	1.1
Book	1–3	—	¹⁰⁰⁄₂₇₀	—	88.3%	4.444	1.1
Enchanted Book^[F]	1	—	⁶⁰⁄₂₇₀	—	72.9%	1.333	1.4
Compass	1	—	⁵⁄₂₇₀	—	10.5%	0.111	9.5
Map^[G]	1	—	⁵⁄₂₇₀	—	10.5%	0.111	9.5

↑ ^a ^b The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
↑ ^a ^b The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
↑ ^a ^b The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
↑ ^a ^b The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
↑ ^a ^b The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
↑ ^a ^b Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-30 enchantment on an enchantment table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.
↑ Named unknown map, but changed to map 0, the scale level is 1:4, Maps from the same stack are stackable, but maps that are not stacked are unstackable despite looking identical.

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Structure type	Identifier
Stronghold	`stronghold`

Structure	Identifier
Stronghold	`stronghold`

Bedrock Edition:

Structure	Identifier	Translation key
Stronghold	`stronghold`	`feature.stronghold`

Config

Java Edition:

[NBT Compound / JSON Object] Structure configuration
- [String] type: minecraft:stronghold
- Fields common to all structures see Template:Nbt inherit/structure/template

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Eye Spy	Follow an Eye of Ender	Enter a .

History

Java Edition Beta
July 01, 2011							Jens Bergensten shares an image of mysterious ruins that resemble a stronghold. Unlike the implemented strongholds, a large part of these ruins are above-ground.
1.8			Pre-release				Added strongholds as part of the Adventure Update. A single one generates per world. They are vacant except for regular mobs that spawn under normal conditions.
			Pre-release				Strongholds have chests in libraries and in storerooms.
			Pre-release 2 ;)				Increased stronghold count to three per world instead of one.
Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3				The end portal room was added to the stronghold. The portal frames can be filled in using eyes of ender, but does not activate.
							A pair of glass towers indicated the location of a stronghold's start (aka main entrance) and second for the portal room on top of them, extending from the top of the map to the stone bricks. This was a debug feature that Jeb forgot to remove.^[5]
							Strongholds now also have chests in corridor altars.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4				Removed glass towers generating above strongholds.
							The end portal is now functional.
							Eyes of ender now properly point to strongholds.
?							The game no longer prints the coordinates of generated strongholds to the output log.
1.4.2			12w40a				Strongholds can now generate in the air in Superflat worlds with certain customization presets.
1.9			15w43a				Increased stronghold count to 128 per world, rather than 3.
							Library chests now have 2–10 stacks of items, rather than 1–4 stacks.
							Enchanted books found in library chests is now weighted to 10 rather than 2, and in single books rather than in groups of 1–5.
			16w06a				Stronghold placement formula changed.
			pre3				Eyes of ender can now point to the 125 new strongholds.
1.17			21w07a				Strongholds are no longer exposed in oceans. Instead, they get covered by the seabed.^[6]
1.18.2			22w07a				Strongholds now spawn in superflat, but not in the "Classic Flat" preset.
1.19.3			22w42a				The placement code has been changed to be more efficient, causing stronghold positions to shift.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w04a				Eye armor trims are now found in stronghold chests.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w05a				Increased the chance of Eye armor trims from from 4.7% to 10% in altar chests, and to 100% in library chests.
1.20 Experiment Update 1.20			23w12a				Changes from 23w04a and 23w05a are now available without using the "Update 1.20" experimental data pack.
1.21.2			pre1				Strongholds can now generate in the Pale Garden biome.
1.21.4			24w44a				The changes from 1.21.2-pre1 are now available without using the "Update 1.21" experimental data pack.
1.21.6			25w20a				Removed saddles from stronghold corridor loot tables, replaced with 1–5 leather.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0			May 6, 2014				Jeb posts on Instagram a photo of one section of a stronghold.
			May 8, 2014				Jeb posts another image of a stronghold, this time within the end portal room.
			build 1				Added strongholds.
			build 1				The end portal block frame exists, but the player cannot travel to the End.
v0.9.2							Strongholds are now more common.
v0.12.0							Enchanted books can now be found in stronghold library chests.
v0.15.0			build 1				Maps can be found in stronghold library chests.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0			alpha 0.17.0.1				Strongholds now generate in new chunks.
							Strongholds can now be found using eyes of ender.
							Chests now generate in stronghold storerooms.
							Ender pearls now generate in altar chests.
Bedrock Edition
1.9.0			beta 1.9.0.0				Cobblestone stairs in strongholds are replaced with stone stairs.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Most strongholds no longer generate under village wells; they now generate under village meeting points.
			beta 1.10.0.3				Reduced chance of strongholds generating under villages.
			beta 1.10.0.4				Stone stairs in strongholds are changed back to cobblestone stairs.
1.18.0			beta 1.18.0.22				Strongholds are no longer able to generate mid-air in large caves.
1.19.80 Experiment Next Major Update			Preview 1.19.80.21				Eye armor trims are now found in stronghold chests.
1.20.70			Preview 1.20.70.22				Strongholds now always generate with an end portal room.
Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU5	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added strongholds.
TU25	CU14	1.17	1.17	1.17			Strongholds can now generate in the air in Superflat worlds with certain customization presets.
TU25	CU14	1.17	1.17	1.17			It is now possible to change the amount of strongholds that generate in a Superflat world. This means it is possible to have up to 3 strongholds instead of only 1.
TU60	CU51	1.64	1.64	1.64	Patch 30	1.0.11	Stronghold chests can now generate emeralds and ink sacs.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added strongholds.

The first image of a stronghold that Jeb posted
The first image of a stronghold that Notch posted
Stronghold markers in Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3
A stronghold generated on Superflat using Customization GUI in 12w40a and 12w40b.
The side view of an uncovered stronghold
Overhead view of an uncovered stronghold
Top view of an uncovered stronghold

Issues

Issues relating to "Stronghold" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

There are exactly 233 bookshelves in a large library, yielding 699 books if mined without Silk Touch, which is 10 stacks plus 59 left over.

Gallery

Screenshots

An iron door in a stronghold
Many stone bricks in a stronghold with an iron door on it
A stronghold with a fountain
A stone pillar generated in a large room.
A small library
A large library
A chest in a stronghold chamber
A floating torch in a pillar room, from a rendering glitch
A floating torch in a library
The end portal room, with an inactive end portal
Finished end portal
A ladder in a stronghold library, which gives a player access to a second floor
An end portal with a silverfish spawner
This portal is already activated upon world generation. (1/10^12 chance)
Four silverfish chasing the player in a stronghold
Mushrooms growing in a cell made of iron bars
A glitch where the ladders of a stronghold can appear floating
The portal room
A stronghold under a village
A cross section of a stronghold generating under a village in Bedrock Edition

Unique generation

An underground view of the top of a stronghold
An end portal room generated partially above sea level, noted by the windows
A stronghold generating on the surface in Xbox 360 Edition
An underwater end portal room with no other rooms
An underground view of the bottom of a stronghold
Ravine with multiple ores, water and lava falls, and a stronghold bridge over it
A desert pyramid, mineshaft, and stronghold generated together
A zombie monster room overriding a stronghold's generation
A monster room intersecting a stronghold
A canyon cutting through a stronghold
A stronghold intersecting with a mineshaft
A floating library generated in a canyon over a lava lake
A stronghold cut by a canyon
A mineshaft generated inside a stronghold library
A monster room intersecting a stronghold and library room
A stronghold and a mineshaft intersection
A monster room, stronghold, and a mineshaft in one area
A stronghold and a cave system
A skeleton monster room that generated in a stronghold
A monster room generated in a library
An end portal room intersected by a mineshaft
A stronghold library above a cave
A stronghold exposed underwater
A stronghold intersecting the monster spawner corridor in a mineshaft
A stronghold with only 3 rooms
A small stronghold
A small stronghold with a small library, a chest corridor, and a portal room
An end portal room in a stronghold with 2 possible ways to get in. Check the image for the seed and coordinates.
A mineshaft along with a stronghold and jungle pyramid generated in one canyon.
This minecart with chest is trapped inside of a stone brick, due to a stronghold and a mineshaft that generated partially overlapping.
A minecart with chest generated on top of an end portal frame, because there is a mineshaft behind the wall
Two store rooms that are intersecting with a mineshaft.
Stronghold library generated in a ravine, making it float
An amethyst geode intersecting with a stronghold
A portal room at the bottom of an ocean
A stronghold room generated at bedrock level
A staircase leading to bedrock
Stronghold libraries can sometimes be set on fire by naturally-occurring lava.
A stronghold generated within a Deep Dark biome.

In other media

Ari and Efe in the stronghold library, from the announcement of Minecraft Live 2023
The stronghold exhibit in 15 Year Journey
A stronghold as it appears in Minecraft Dungeons.
A Lego set of a stronghold intersected with a badlands mineshaft

Official artwork

Artwork of the structure

External links

Building Blocks: Stronghold – Minecraft.net on July 4, 2024

References

↑ MC-140209 — resolved as "Invalid".
↑ MC-140117 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vztJNmUdyBY&t=37s
↑ https://github.com/hube12/SSGOutput/releases/tag/1.1
↑ "Ah LOL! I forgot to remove the debug pillars from the strongholds. Oh well, it's not severe enough for another update" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), October 6, 2011
↑ MC-216191 — resolved as "Works As Intended".

Navigation

[stacksize-5] The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.

[weight-6] The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.

[chance-7] The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.

[items-8] The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.

[chests-9] The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.

[nothing-10] 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.

[enchant-with-levels-30-11] Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-30 enchantment on an enchantment table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

[stacksize-12] The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.

[weight-13] The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.

[chance-14] The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.

[items-15] The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.

[chests-16] The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.

[enchant-with-levels-30-17] Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-30 enchantment on an enchantment table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

[stacksize-18] The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.

[weight-19] The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.

[chance-20] The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.

[items-21] The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.

[chests-22] The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.

[enchant-with-levels-30-23] Enchantment probabilities are the same as a level-30 enchantment on an enchantment table that was able to apply treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and where the chance of multiple enchantments is not reduced.

[map-24] Named unknown map, but changed to map 0, the scale level is 1:4, Maps from the same stack are stackable, but maps that are not stacked are unstackable despite looking identical.

[1] MC-140209 — resolved as "Invalid".

[2] MC-140117 — resolved as "Works As Intended".

[3] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vztJNmUdyBY&t=37s

[4] ttps://github.com/hube12/SSGOutput/releases/tag/1.1

[25] "Ah LOL! I forgot to remove the debug pillars from the strongholds. Oh well, it's not severe enough for another update" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), October 6, 2011

[26] MC-216191 — resolved as "Works As Intended".

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