Maps of Movies

Stalker (1979)

Where Stalker says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

The Zone is invented, but you can stand where it was filmed: abandoned power plants near Tallinn, and a bar set in Moscow.

Scenes and places

The Stalker's home (1979)

The Stalker has just come back from prison to his wife and daughter. His wife begs him not to go back to the Zone, but he slips out anyway.

Set in The Stalker's home — The small flat where the Stalker lives with his wife and daughter.

The film does not name a street or city for this flat.

The rundown bar-café (1979)

The Stalker meets a disaffected Writer and a physics Professor and warns them to do exactly what he says. The two men size each other up before the trip.

Set in The bar-café — A shabby bar-café where the Stalker meets his two clients.

The bar scene exit was a small set built in Moscow; the rest of the film was shot in Estonia.

Filmed at Moscow, near CHPP-20 thermal power plant (CHPP-20 power plant area, Moscow, Russia) — A small set for the exit from the bar was built here; the coordinates are the power plant, not the set. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Through the gate behind the train (1979)

To dodge the guards, the Stalker has the Writer and the Professor wait for a train and follow it through the gate. Once past the outpost, the three men are in the Zone.

Set in The Zone's gate and outpost — The fenced border of the Zone, with a guard outpost beside the railway.

The gate and the approach were pieced together from several places in and around Tallinn.

Filmed at Rotermann Quarter, Tallinn (Rotermann Quarter, Tallinn, Estonia) — The shot before entering the Zone, by the old Rotermann salt storage; the coordinate is the quarter centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at Former Tallinn Power Plant (Kultuurikatel) (Kultuurikatel, Tallinn, Estonia) — The former power plant, now Tallinn Creative Hub, with a memorial plate of the film set up in 2008. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The railway trolley into the Zone (1979)

The three men ride a railway work car across the Zone while the Stalker tests the path ahead with bandaged nuts. Nothing unusual happens, which makes him more careful.

Set in Inside the Zone — A wild landscape of abandoned factories, rails, wrecked tanks and overgrown ruins.

A river valley outside Tallinn, with two derelict hydropower plants.

Filmed at Jägala river hydropower plant, Estonia (Jägala river, Jägala, Estonia) — One of two deserted hydropower plants where the Zone scenes were shot in a few days; the exact scenes are not listed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Filmed at Linnamäe hydropower plant, Estonia (Jägala river, Jägala, Estonia) — The second deserted plant on the Jägala river; the English page does not name the two plants, so which is which is our reading of the Estonian page. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The meat grinder and the Room (1979)

The men draw lots and the Writer must go first through the passage the Stalker calls the meat grinder. He crosses nervously and unharmed, which shocks the Stalker.

Set in The meat grinder passage — A long, dark passage that the Stalker says punishes anyone the Zone judges unworthy.

The sources do not say where this passage was filmed.

Filmed at Iru Power Plant, Maardu (Maardu · Iru, Tallinn, Estonia) — Inside the Zone Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• The Stalker — A guide who illegally leads people through the Zone to the Room.
• The Writer — A disaffected writer who says he is losing his inspiration.
• The Professor — A physics professor who wants to analyze the Zone.