Mount Gundabad

Mount Gundabad is a mountain at the northern end of the Misty Mountains.

According to the Dwarves, Durin the Deathless, oldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke at Mount Gundabad in the north of the Misty Mountains shortly after the awakening of the Elves. Mount Gundabad remained a sacred place to the Dwarves ever after.

In the middle of the Second Age, however, the Orcs (who were ruled over by the servants of Sauron) invaded the mountains again and took Gundabad. The site would not be cleansed until very late in the Second Age, possibly around or after the fall of Sauron and the loss of the One Ring in 3441 S.A.

In the Third Age, the Orcs of Angmar yet again claimed it as their capital, which was one of the reasons for the Dwarves' special hatred of this people. After the fall of Angmar Gundabad remained an Orc stronghold, until it was cleaned of Orcs during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.