Hutt Castle, often simply called Jabba the Hutt’s Palace after its owner, was a large sandrock and durasteel complex located at the fringes of the Northern Dune Sea on the planet of Tatooine. Originally erected as a monastery of the B’omarr Order, the buildings eventually fell into the hands of two major crimelords: first an outcast and gang leader called Alkhara and later Jabba the Hutt, a notorious crime lord from Nal Hutta.
While the structure underwent many additions in the way of fortification and technological advances, the basic structure of the complex remained the same throughout its existence. Composed of a central rotunda and a taller spire adjacent to it, the ridge-side retreat also boasted an underground hangar and maintenance bay. Deep in the monastery’s subterranean chambers, Jabba the Hutt made a throne room which sat on top of a pit that housed a pet rancor. The Hutt used the beast for a dual purpose: protection and entertainment. At the flick of a switch, a concealed door in the floor of the chamber could deposit a threatening guest into an inescapable pit while onlookers could watch as the rancor made short work of its meal.
Jabba’s Palace was originally to be located on the planet Sicemon, but was later moved to Tatooine when the former was cut from the final version of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
There is some conflicting information on the location of Jabba’s Palace. All sources before Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy, including all West End Games game material and Star Wars Galaxies, place it on the northern edge of the Western Dune Sea, not too distant from Wayfar, while newer material shows it located on the edge of the Northern Dune Sea, north of Mos Eisley. This article presumes that the newer map is correct.