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Durmstrang Castle

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"Veil, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking. Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these — though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains —"
Viktor Krum describes Durmstrang to Hermione Granger.[src]

Durmstrang Castle is a four-stories high castle located in Sweden or Norway,[1][2][3] that houses Durmstrang Institute. The castle has existed since at least 1294, around the year of the first Triwizard Tournament.

Durmstrang is not quite as big as Hogwarts. The castle is only four stories tall and fires are only lit for magical purposes. It has very extensive grounds compared to Hogwarts.

The students' arrival at Hogwarts Castle by ship in 1994 implies that Durmstrang is somewhere along the coast of Northern Europe, this excludes the european mainlands. The port of Narvik, Norway, is the most nothern port of Europe that remains ice-free thoughout the year, making it possible to sail from the location with their ship even during winter, and it is located close to several mountains and lakes (suiting Krum's description). Narvik could be one of the possible locations for Durmstrang. The short distance from Russia could also explain why their headmaster and some of their students have russian sounding names.

Security

It is known that Durmstrang is one of if not the most secretive of all the eleven wizarding schools. Like Hogwarts, the school is Unplottable; Durmstrang, like other schools, likes to conceal its whereabouts so the other schools cannot steal their secrets, and presumably protected by Anti-intruder jinxes, Muggle-Repelling Charms and Concealment Charms to hide its location from plain sight. Due to the school policy of keeping the school hidden from everyone, it is also likely that it is impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within the castle and grounds, and visitors even have to agree to be subjected to a Memory Charm upon depature so they forget the school's exact location.

Behind the scenes

  • In an interview with Accio Quote J. K. Rowling stated that Durmstrang was located in Scandinavia, in the far north of either Sweden or Norway.[1]
  • Krum's description of the school's surroundings in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire match the northern part of Norway that borders to Russia. Krum says that the castle is situated in a mountainous region, and is in close proximity to at least two lakes. Krum then goes into great detail in describing the climate at Durmstrang, stating that during the winter months there is very little sunlight.

The sun in in the northern parts of Scandinavia sets very early during the winter. [1].

  • In the film, the coat of arms for Durmstrang is shown to be a double-headed eagle, and also features Cyrillic characters. Some of the regions of Sweden have crests with beings such as dragons, eagles, griffons, and giants. Additionally, one region of Sweden has a moose, eagle, and a wolf on its crest, all three of which are found on the Durmstrang crest. Both Sweden and Norway countries being of Viking descent. Also, on the German flag there is an eagle similar to the one on the Durmstrang crest.

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Report on Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre reading
  2. 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Hermione: "It must be far north because they have fur capes on the uniform list."
  3. 3.0 3.1 The geographic characteristics described by Krum in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire strongly imply northern Norway. See the "Behind the Scenes" section

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